Just a nice little reminder about the nearly complete and total shit show that the America’s Cup has devolved into. Oh, they must be so proud!
New Zealand sailor Matt Mitchell has filed complaints of gross misconduct against the five members of an international jury that assessed the harshest penalties in America’s Cup history, alleging “a trail of conspiratorial ineptitude that is hard to refute.”
Mitchell’s filing Wednesday with the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) is the latest fallout from one of the biggest scandals in the cup’s 164-year history.
It comes less than two weeks after Mitchell asked ISAF to investigate former Oracle Team USA teammate Simeon Tienpont for breaking a racing rule and lying during a hearing prior to the 2013 America’s Cup on San Francisco Bay.
After investigating the illegal modifying of catamarans Oracle sailed in warmup regattas, the jury docked the syndicate two points in the match against Emirates Team New Zealand, tossed sailor Dirk de Ridder from the regatta and suspended Mitchell, a backup grinder, for the first four races. Oracle rallied from an 8-1 deficit to win the final eight races and retain the Auld Mug.
Mitchell says he was punished because Tienpont lied to the jury.
Now Mitchell is going after the jury, saying the investigation and hearings were conducted in a clandestine manner. Jury member Graham McKenzie of New Zealand faces a further allegation of witness tampering by acting in an intimidating and-or threatening manner. Read on.
