IT was the statement heard around the world, well British rugby league at least, as Cougars sacked head coach Matt Foster last week and publicly revealed exactly why.
On the face of it, it seemed a head-scratching decision, with Keighley sat on top of Betfred League 1 at the time with 11 wins from 13 games, looking well set for an immediate return to the Championship.
Foster had built up his reputation as legendary player at Cougar Park, serving the club with distinction for 11 years, and he remains their third highest try-scorer of all-time.
It seemed like the perfect fit to bring him back as head coach last July, and a year into his reign, few fans, if any, were calling for his head.
But having pored over the eyebrow-raising statement at length over the last 10 days, plenty of it makes sense.
Many of the points are articulated well, openly and honestly, by owner Ryan O’Neill and managing director Kaue Garcia.
And having referred to disagreements behind the scenes between director of rugby Jake Webster and head coach Foster, it seemed the situation had become untenable.
One of them probably had to go, and the club sided with the former New Zealand international, who is now interim head coach while Cougars search for a successor to Foster.
O’Neill has been open enough to publicly admit in the past that he has got things wrong, and throughout any conversations I’ve had with him and Garcia, their passion for rugby league and making the team the best it can be shines through.
As a married couple, the duo have fought hard to make the game and the club more LGBTQ+ friendly, while adopting a strong pro-trans rights stance.
The vitriolic discourse surrounding the latter in the UK means O’Neill and Garcia have taken plenty of flak, especially over their decision to appoint outspoken trans broadcaster India Willoughby as club patron earlier this year.
But while Garcia’s comment to Attitude magazine after Foster’s sacking and the reaction to it, saying “it just made him want to put even more rainbow flags everywhere” was perhaps misguided, as most of the dissenters simply had legitimate concerns about the wisdom of sacking a popular table-topping coach, it was understandable.
O’Neill and Garcia admitted to receiving a fearful amount of homophobic abuse after the initial statement, a generic sacking one, which is unacceptable and they were 100 per cent correct to call that out.
It should not be hard to comprehend that the pair can look to improve the club on the field, and they felt performances were lacking under Foster, while also aiming to make it a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
It does not have to be one or the other, there is room for both.
O’Neill and Garcia’s passionate defence of Webster and chief operating officer Steven Watkinson in their second, hard-hitting statement also showed their willingness to jump in and protect valued colleagues.
The desire to defend the four men, including themselves, receiving flak, was understandable, and as mentioned, homophobia and discrimination should always be called out anyway.
It also made sense that they would want to try and explain which seemed bizarre on the face of it, with little to suggest why the sacking had taken place in the original statement, but much of what was said was badly-judged.
Some of the criticisms of Foster became too personal, questioning his character, not just his ability.
On Facebook, his furious wife blasted some of the statement as defamatory, and given they made claims which will be virtually impossible to back up, O’Neill and Garcia have unnecessarily left themselves open to legal proceedings, should Foster wish to pursue those.
It also felt crass to bring players’ names into the statement, and by claiming that Foster did not want to sign former Bradford Bulls duo George Flanagan and Brandon Pickersgill, it felt as if little thought was given into how that would make those players feel upon reading that.
There was also a bizarre contradictory statement criticising Rhys Lovegrove’s tenure, which felt unnecessary to dig up given he was sacked 14 months ago and has gone on to enjoy success since with London Broncos and Hull KR, which surely proves his ability as a coach.
In it, they talked about the need to protect a head coach when he is sacked, before going on to not protect Lovegrove with their comments.
Unlike Foster, Lovegrove did reply to the T&A when asked about the statement, but politely declined to give a response.
It seems he wants to let the matter lie, but who knows whether Foster will take things further?
Hard as it must have been for the board to hear those unimpressed by decision and their generic initial statement, their second one showed exactly why those at the top of the hierarchy are best just to wear that disgruntlement.
Call out the homophobia? Absolutely. Defend your employees? Fair. Wanting more from the performances? Showing ambition. The rest of it? Bad idea.
Cougars’ first game since Foster’s sacking comes on Sunday at title rivals Oldham and it remains to be seen how supporters react after the turbulent last 10 days.
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