Jennie Wyllie: Netball NZ CEO on Dame Noeline Taurua's return to the Silver Ferns

Netball New Zealand boss Jennie Wyllie is looking forward to mending ties with reinstated Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua.

The pair have been colleagues since Taurua's appointment to lead New Zealand in 2018.

Wyllie says she's pleased the pair were able to reach common ground so Taurua could return to the Silver Ferns.

"She's acknowledged that, in a high-performance environment, there is a balance that needs to exist - between how do you find the edge, but also who people are. And I think we've been working on - how do we keep that balance top of mind for the well-being of these athletes?"

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, as I told you on Friday would happen. Dame
Nolen Toto has been reinstated as the Silver Fern's head coach.
She's back immediately, but she won't actually take up coaching
until the end of the year, after the Northern Tour
is over. Jenny Wiley is the chief executive of Netborn,
New Zealand. Hi Jenny, Hi, Heather. Okay, can you tell
us now why you stood her down? Oh?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
I think it's been well documented that we had player
concerns raised and forout to work through. Oh, look, these
are confidential concerns. We're a workplace like anywhere else, and
athletes and employees need to be able to raise things
knowing they'll be retained in confidence. So we're treating it

(00:42):
no differently to any any workplace.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Okay, So has she apologized for the things that they
raised concerns over.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well, I think it's acknowledged that these concerns were things
that I personally, as CEE, could not walk past, and
that means that we all need to acknowledge that these
were legitimate for the pace pulled that race them. And
what we're really pleased about is we've been able to
reach going to work through.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Those Has she apologized for those things?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Well, Knowles has not been in that environment. So being
able to get in front of those players after the
Northern Tour and work through these things will no doubt
entail an acknowledgment of the concerns and in particular, how
we're going to move forward.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
So she has acknowledged that those complaints will legit.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
I think she's acknowledged that, you know, in a high
performance environment, there is a balance that needs to exist
between how do you find the edge but also who
people are, and I think we've been working on how
do we keep that balance top of mind for the
well being of these athletes. So being able to acknowledge
that concerns exist and that we're going to work through

(01:52):
them has been, you know, a really important factor for everyone.

Speaker 1 (01:55):
So she has acknowledged she was wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Well, I think you'll need to speak to Knowles about
what she plans on acknowledging or not with her athletes.
Hold on me.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
In order for you guys to bring her back, you
must have had some acknowledgment from her. Has she acknowledged
to you that she's wrong? She has.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
She has acknowledged that concerns exist in the environment, but
she is also in a place where she is working
with us on how do we move forward and put
the right princess is in place?

Speaker 1 (02:25):
Has she acknowledged she was wrong?

Speaker 2 (02:28):
I think she's acknowledged that concerns have existed in that environment.

Speaker 1 (02:31):
Yeah, okay, so she's acknowledged that there are concerns. We
know there are concerns because the concerns were raised. Has
she acknowledged that she was wrong? If she hasn't acknowledged
that she was wrong, have you guys cleared her?

Speaker 2 (02:43):
Look, we have worked through a process with her, and
we have acknowledgment of these issues. These are things that
high performance environments work around all the time.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
If she has cleared Jenny and she has this, looks
to me, are you going to go to the players
and tell them that they were wrong to raise this?

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Not at all? Not at all. I think everyone is saying,
so the players were concerns that we're we are saying
that the player concerns have been listened to, we are
putting processes in place.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Are what processes?

Speaker 2 (03:20):
Well, there's there's a number of things. So we've got
the period between now and year end to be able
to talk about what well being frameworks need to exist
to strengthen play a voice. We'll be using specialists from
throughout the sporting system. So I think sport has a
bit of a past, or a checkered past of of

(03:42):
how we deal with player concerns or athlete wellbeing or
coach wellbeing. So there's heaps of learnings that we're going
to put in place, and then we're going to determine
how do we roll these out into our environment on
a bit of a working group from.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
The place to stop whatever it is that Noles did
last time from happening again.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yep, We've got the next three months as a working
party on these frameworks that we believe need to be true.
We have some processes already that are in development, but
we need to be able to have player voice in
that at the moment, those players are in a campaign
and so we need to be able to introduce the

(04:24):
right mechanisms to hear what the players need. We need
the player.

Speaker 1 (04:28):
Realizing to any normal person, this just sounds like a
crop right now. You know that ain't well?

Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well, I think it's not. I mean, our intention is
to be able to ensure that our system is stronger
as a result of this, and we do believe that
we've got processes that we're going to be able to
put into place that ensure that strengthening of voice around
around the table for everyone.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
So what this looks like to any normal person is
Nole's got stood down. Nothing has actually changed, She's got
brought back. Somebody made the wrong decision stand her down?
Then who stood her down?

Speaker 2 (05:04):
So the Netbor New Zealand board took the decision that
because we were unable to reach agreement that needed to
be true the comparatnent Sorry.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Did Matt win a race? Stand her down?

Speaker 2 (05:16):
No? If the Netbor New Zealand board took that decision.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
The entire board and.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
The board took that decision yet and they made it because.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
You guys have stood it. You've stood down a world
class coach for two months and then you've just brought
her back and nothing has changed. So that says that
standing her down was a mistake. Am I right?

Speaker 2 (05:36):
Not at all? No, we were unable to reach a
mutual agreement on the changes that were needed in that
environment in the heat of going into test matches. So
that's what we've been working on in the last two
months is reaching that agreement about the changes that were
needed in the system and in the sulfur. To ensure that.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
You haven't you haven't reached any agreement, there is going
to be like some working group that's going to be
set up for the next few months to do it.
So you've brought her back without even that being decided.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Well, what we do have is our interim coaches will
remain excuse me, with the Ferns over the next few
months and that allows us that time to work when
we're not in a player facing environment to shure up
the systems that will be required and will provide the
safeguards for everybody.

Speaker 1 (06:26):
Okay, Jenny, thanks for your time. I do appreciate it.
I'm good luck with everything, Jenny Wilie, Chief executive Netborn
New Zealander. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
live to news talks that'd be from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.