Sydney, July 16 : Commonwealth Games Champion John Steffensen has once again launched a verbal attack on Athletics Australia (AA) by claiming that the organisation ignored his notices after he was racially abused by officials.
Steffensen launched a tirade on Saturday after being overlooked for an individual 400m spot at the Olympic Games, and has threatened to boycott the London Games after teenage star Steve Solomon was given the only available slot.
“It was unfortunate all the media grabbed was that I said I wasn''t picked because of my skin colour. That is so naive and so ignorant for people to think that way,” News. com. au quoted Steffensen, as saying.
“But this has happened to me - yes, I have been called names on teams, and officials have abused me racially. Yes, I told my lawyers and got letters sent to AA to deal with this and it''s never been dealt with,” he added.
“Never ever have I got a letter back,” he said.
However, AA chief executive Dallas O''Brien was quick to slam the allegation.
“I''m certainly not aware (of that). I know there have been some general comments made, but there has been no proof or any specific situations,” O’Brien said.
“I''ve been in this position for two years now and certainly nothing has happened in that time,” he added. (ANI)
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