As Whitecaps executives return, some season ticket holders consider cancelling

As previously on leave Vancouver Whitecaps executives return to the soccer club, some supporters say they’re conflicted about whether to continue their support — with some pulling the plug on season tickets.

While the Whitecaps have never confirmed officially which executives it put on leave last year in connection with the handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former women’s coach Hubert Busby Junior in 2011, the leadership team during that era included Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi, Rachel Lewis, and Greg Anderson.

And now the picture has become clearer about who will be sticking around.

Anderson has departed the club in recent days, with Lewis leaving earlier this year. The organization says both made their own decisions to leave.

But Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi are both back in new roles, as announced this week, and that’s not sitting well with some fans who were hoping for a fresh start.

After abuse scandals involving two former women’s coaches came to light, among other issues including the hiring of a youth coach while he was the subject of a racism investigation in England, many fans expected a change.

Fans cancel season tickets 

Rob Hodkinson has been a supporter of the club since the 70s, but has now made the decision to end his support.

“In the MLS era I have long been able to overlook the lack of on-field success, but the off-field issues have plagued this club,” Hodkinson told CityNews through social media.

“The abuse scandal was front and centre obviously, and regardless of how much validity you give to the investigation, bringing back people in vital roles during it does nothing to help the club move forward. The hiring of a coach under investigation by the FA for racial abuse without screening the applicant is almost unconscionable.”

Hodkinson went on to say, “The joy and excitement of going to matches has been stolen from me, and until the club starts fresh from ownership I will stay away. My Mum introduced me to football and I know she would be proud of me for the stand I’ve taken.”

Then there’s James Siddall — he hasn’t made a call yet but says he is leaning toward asking for a refund, given this information came out after the renewal deadline.

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“I don’t really want to give up on this club,” Siddall said. “But I don’t have very many options [other than trying] to cancel my ticket as some form of statement. It’s a really hard decision, but I think the right thing needs to be done. And for a lot of the core supporters who have been die hards, this has been a big sticking point. We really want to move on in terms of the front office.”

For Patrick Heide, who has been a season ticket holder for around a decade and a member of the Southsiders, he says even before this development he decided to cancel his tickets.

“The [things] that happened to some of the female players,” Heide said. “I was just frustrated with how the Whitecaps dealt with that.”

Autorenewal for season tickets happened before the decision

A particular issue for some fans is that the decision to bring back Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi wasn’t made public until after the season ticket autorenewal deadline.

“They won’t even let us properly protest inside the stadium, banning signs and protest banners before they even get in the door,” former season ticket holder Austin Sweeney told CityNews. “They don’t show they care about us, just money. So the only way to send a message I felt was to stop giving them my money.”

But Whitecaps Chief Executive Axel Schuster insists he has taken a very close look at what happened, and feels not everybody has the full story about the role of Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi, with regard to some of the widely reported controversies dating back to 2008.

“I’ve also connected with former players of this club,” Schuster said. “I have also connected with a player that has been a victim and has been part in the [former coach Bob Birarda] court case as a witness. And she had not any of those feelings [against the former executives]. I think there’s a bigger misunderstanding about their role and what they actually have done. I think, in total, they have been [in favour] of investigations.”

There have been a number of third party investigations into the club’s handling of situations involving allegations of abuse, but Schuster says from his perspective, those reports generally found the club acted appropriately by bringing in an external investigator.

“I had to make my decision based on all the facts and the information I got, and for that reason I have really taken a lot of time to speak with every possible person that had an opinion and could deliver information, including girls from the program at that time, but also with every possible stakeholder,” Schuster said, explaining his decision to keep Bob and Dan Lenarduzzi.

Schuster says he is personally speaking with fans — and claims he has convinced some season ticket holders who were thinking of cancelling to stick around.