Melbourne

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Australian boxing head coach Jamie Pittman has admitted to sexual misconduct towards female fighters and withdrawn from the upcoming Paris Olympics. The former professional boxer allegedly committed 11 offences during three separate trips with the boxing teams between July and October last year.

The Combat Institute of Australia, acting on behalf of several elite boxers, levelled the accusations against Pittman and served him with a breach notice for abuse, bullying and sexual misconduct.

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Australia's National Sports Tribunal - an independent government body, heard the case against Pittman last month, the details of which were made public on Wednesday (Apr 17). 

“Once he [Pittman] considered the evidence, he didn’t want to cause any further stress or anxiety to the athletes who were preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games, withdrew his expression of interest to coach at those Games and accepted the breach,” the tribunal stated.  

"The body found Pittman's conduct ‘disgusting’, ‘shocking’, ‘inappropriate’, ‘gross’ and ‘offensive’.”

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“Common to nine of the 11 instances of prohibited conduct are inappropriate comments or conduct involving the sexual objectification of women that is puerile, infantile and lacking in sensitivity or awareness. Especially by someone of Mr Pittman’s seniority and standing in the boxing community who should be leading by example." 

Quizzed about the allegations, the Queenslander who represented Australia at the 2004 Olympics and 2002 Commonwealth Games, said he will not attend the Paris Games in July. 

"It's all in there for you to read," said Pittman. 

Also read | Paris Olympics: Cyclists association chief blast'against the spirit' prize money policy of world athletics 

Six-month ban recommended 

The tribunal has recommended a six-month ban on Pittman and written apologies to a team physiotherapist and at least two athletes. The 'disgraced' coach must also partake in a training course on anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, anti-bullying and anti-sexual misconduct within 60 days.

Notably, in one of the incidents, Pittman took a photo of a female fighter from behind as she bent over and later showed it to another team member. 

In another shocking incident, Pittman is alleged to have said, "How f**king hot are some of the girls in here," at an October 2023 team camp in Italy and telling a fighter, "Yummy, yes please" when a female boxer walked past him. 

The Paris Olympics are less than four months away and the scandal has the potential to severely derail the momentum of fighters, experts said. 

(With inputs from agencies)