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Former CEO Fiona de Jong, who departed the AOC in December,
confirmed to local media she had made a formal complaint against
the AOC's media and communications director Mike Tancred.
Tancred declined to comment when contacted by Reuters about the
allegations, which have emerged three weeks before the AOC's
presidential election at the annual general meeting on May 6.
State media ABC reported on Monday the AOC's board would meet
this week after a number of its members expressed concerns about
"significant reputational damage" to the Committee.
An AOC spokesperson confirmed the meeting to Australian
Associated Press but provided no details.
Tancred is a long-serving lieutenant to AOC President John
Coates, who will contest the election for one of Australia's top
jobs in sport against board member and Olympic hockey gold
medalist Danni Roche.
The election marks the first leadership challenge to Coates
since he assumed the role in 1990.
An International Olympic Committee vice president and one of the
most powerful sports administrators in the world, Coates has
been embroiled in a public feud with the Australian Sports
Commission, a government agency that disburses sports funding.
De Jong complained that the AOC was dragging its heels on an
investigation into her complaint.
Ryan Wells, another former AOC staffer, detailed a separate
allegation of bullying against Tancred when working in its media
department in 2004.
He said he was made redundant six months after making a
complaint.
In a Monday editorial, the Sydney Morning Herald called for
change at the AOC.
"The allegations of a bullying and toxic culture under Mr
Coates' watch at the organization have reached a critical mass,"
it said, adding that in any other field "the doubts over Mr
Coates would destroy his chances" of extending his reign.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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