REFLECTIONS ON LACROSSE CANADA FIRING ITS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

 by Pierre Filion pierrefilion@bell.net

Last Friday (February 20^th) Lacrosse Canada’s president (Matt Shearer) informed the provincial presidents and provincial staffs that LC was transitioning the Executive Director role effective immediately. This indicates the beginning of a process to change leadership, to ensure the departure of the ED, to hire a successor, to train and motivate the new leader. It will also require that Lacrosse Canada reviews its planning and organizational strategies while also managing the staff’s stability and morale.

Now, firing the Executive Director (the top man in the organization) ‘’effective immediately’’ is no small decision. It indicates many things, and the confidentiality surrounding the decision and the carry over, is indicative of serious reasons for terminating the Executive Director.

The reasons for firing the Executive Director will eventually all come out in the open but, at this time, THINK LACROSSE is not very concerned, nor interested, with the juicy details related to the decision to fire. We would rather concentrate on other areas of importance.

Sure, there are valid and important reasons but what is troubling is that the initial action to release the ED did not come from the Board of Directors, it came from the members in a Members’ council meeting where the provincial presidents (who represent the paying members and mostly the dedicated volunteers who support the game across the country) simply had enough after two important financial deficits in a row and another one looming large for the 2025-26 fiscal year to end on March 31^st.

Would the Board of Directors have acted if the members had not raised the matter? Who knows. Maybe it would still be business as usual…

We might never know the answer but one thing is sure, the Board of Directors DID NOT ACT before the members raised the matter. When a Board decides to terminate the top man’s contract they obviously point to important deficiencies but for sure THEY CLEARLY REVEAL THEIR OWN DEFICIENCIES, absence and lack of credible governance and oversight as directors of the Association.

The embarrassing question begs to be asked: ‘’Where were you when all this was happening? How could you not see? And obviously…’’How can we trust you to lead the Association in the future’’?

After the firing of the Executive Director the Board members will either resign or plead ignorance of the facts and claim they were misled by someone they trusted. And they’ll suffer with anxiety until the external auditors reveal the 2026 financial statements and the extent of their willful blindness. They’ll also be anxious if policemen (OPP, RCMP) come around looking for fraud or other crimes.

THINK LACROSSE had written numerous articles, in the last year, raising important red flags and presenting factual situations that could destroy the National Association. Just for fun read the October 23^rd post titled: ‘’There is something rotten in the state of Oshawa’’ It’s all there. Clear as day!

The situation at Lacrosse Canada was a mess; some knew about it but most everyone had adopted the dominant narrative imposed by the Association’s leader now fired. No counter narrative was existent.

At this time, I remember what one of my mentors once told me when I was facing tough times and problems at the Québec Federation. ‘’The problem that arises is not the important issue; the important issue is what YOU do to make sure it does not happen again. If you do nothing it will happen again and will embarrass the Association once again. And you will be blamed rightfully this time’’.

So, the ball is in the Board of Directors’ court if there is still, at Lacrosse Canada, a credible thing called the Board of Directors.

But allow me to raise another question while the Directors review the situation and assess their own responsibilities.

What is it with lacrosse that situations like this one seem to happen so often?

In the 43 years that I have been associated with the CLA (Lacrosse Canada) I could name at least 12 individuals, in leadership positions at the national level, who were either fired (for good reasons) or who left in embarrassment. Personal humiliation. Embarrassment to themselves and to the Association. And I’m sure you also know names of individuals at the provincial or local levels who, also, screwed your Association and/or mismanaged the funds they were expected to properly manage.

What is it with lacrosse that draws these types of individuals to our game and often propels them so quickly in leadership positions? Nationally, provincially and locally!

Naturally it’s not about the game it’s about us. What is it with ‘’us’’ that creates situations where we so often fire leaders or directors for dereliction of duty; why are we so often embarrassed by situations we seem to create ourselves?

Is it that our game is a marginal game and accesses to positions of leadership are easier to obtain than in other mainstream sports?

Is it that we quickly bow to outsiders who have some sort of charisma, who seem to express ‘’inborn’’ qualities of leadership and high opinions of themselves?

Is it that we, the members, allow anyone with flair, salesmanship qualities and grandiose ideas about the game to take center court while the members, humble and devoted to the game, stay away for lack of self-assurance?

Is it that we allow our leaders to act with some sort of misguided sense of absolute power but with real sense of incompetence for the position?

Is it that we, the members, accept the fact that there is only one narrative dominating the business of the Association; one narrative, imposed and never challenged!

Is it that deep down we believe that authoritarian regimes are what is best for our associations and that we need to be ruled in?

Is it that we, the members, are too busy with the management of our local lacrosse affairs that we show little interest towards the affairs of our National Association and thus are just irrelevant paying bystanders? Lacrosse Canada is simply not ‘’our thing’’ to worry about! We have too much on our plate back home!

Is it that we allow our leaders too much power in the management of our Association; too much power and very little room for accountability? (Case in point: we have allowed the fired ED to administer all by himself 1,078,085$ for ‘’his’’ National Teams in the 2025-26 budget without any form of details or explanations. If we allow our leaders to run away with our money than we should not be surprised when they do run away with our money.) ‘’She take me money and run Venezuela; again’’ (Harry Belafonte and now…many lacrosse volunteers…)

Is it that we see not ‘’through’’ our leaders and question very little of what they do? Is it that we, the members, don’t wish to rock the boat with our questions or comments and remain silent to project some sort of unanimity and cohesion?

Is it that there is no organized forum to express comments or opinions which might lead to changes within the Association?

Questions, questions. Let’s not brush them aside. Please.

But one thing that one of my mentors mentioned recently appears clearly is that ‘’when leaders are trying to achieve personal goals and support only one aspect of the game this leads to undesired results for the organization.’’ It leads to situations where the members are dead tired, the Board is forced into action and the association’s reputation takes a punch in the face.

These are things of our own making as if we did not dislike being in the ditch again and again. As if, sometimes, the forces of death are stronger than the forces of life.