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A local luge racer alleges his “catastrophic” 2019 injury at the Whistler Sliding Centre was the result of negligence on the part of his coach, who he claims demonstrated a pattern of systemic abuse, harassment and bullying in the lead-up to the crash, according to a civil suit filed this week in B.C.'s Supreme Court.
In the suit, Whistler luger Garrett Reid alleged that coach Matthew McMurray subjected him to abuse and neglect while the 19-year-old was a member of the Canadian National NextGen team from 2018 to 2019, culminating in a crash on Nov. 16, 2019 that reportedly led to a litany of injuries.
“McMurray’s conduct leading up to the Injury was an abuse of power and exploitation of the trust and psychological intimacy inherent to the relationship between a coach and a young athlete, particularly one intent on succeeding in a highly competitive sporting endeavour,” the legal filing read.
The Whistler 2010 Sport Legacies Society (WSLS), Luge Canada, and the B.C. Luge Association are named alongside McMurray as defendants in the suit. Kenneth Reid, appointed co-committee of Garrett’s person and estate, is listed as a plaintiff as well.
Austria crash
According to the suit, prior to the November 2019 injury, the teenaged Reid was involved in a separate crash in February 2019 while training for the upcoming Junior World Luge Championship in Austria. The crash purportedly resulted in Reid’s sled flipping up and impacting the right side of his helmet, equipment that had been issued by Luge Canada. Following that crash, Reid allegedly requested medical attention from McMurray, “who refused and told Garrett to stop asking,” the suit claimed.
Months later, medical imaging purportedly revealed that Garrett had healed fractures on the right side of his face, injuries that were allegedly sustained in the Austria crash. “McMurray and Luge Canada failed to provide Garrett with medical treatment following the Austria Crash,” the filing went on. “As a result, Garrett continued to train and race with undiagnosed and untreated facial fractures. Garrett’s performance results were negatively impacted.”
Reid claimed that, partly as a result of his diminished performance results, McMurray “heightened his verbal and psychological abuse,” according to the civil suit. “Garrett was subjected to daily bullying, humiliation, hazing, threats, and intimidation by McMurray,” it alleged.
The filing goes on to say that neither McMurray nor Luge Canada “took steps to replace the Helmet following the Austria Crash and Garrett was required to continue wearing the Helmet for the duration of the 2019 Championship and for the season thereafter.”
Despite multiple requests from Reid and his parents to replace the helmet, according to the court documents, neither Luge Canada nor McMurray issued him a new helmet after the accident in Austria.
Whistler injury
At the beginning of the 2019-20 luge season, Reid was back at the Whistler Sliding Centre, training under the supervision of McMurray. In the week leading up to the November injury, Reid claimed that McMurray directed him to “begin adding strips of sand paper, one at a time, to his sled,” a training technique used to “reduce control of the sled and, thereby result in faster run times,” the filing stated.
Reid said he had never used the training technique before. Despite that, he claimed McMurray maintained his direction that Reid add one strip of sand paper at a time to his sled. Then, after completing a run with three strips of sand paper on his sled, Reid said he felt unsafe on the track and expressed his concerns to his coach, requesting to return to two strips of sand paper.
“As a result, McMurray subjected Garrett to verbal, psychological, and physical abuse regarding Garrett’s request to reduce the sand paper strips, and he continued to pressure Garrett into increasing the number of sand paper strips. McMurray told Garrett he needed to use three strips,” the suit alleged.
On the day of the accident, Nov. 16, Reid said he was participating in his first training session of the day, which was sponsored by the WSLS, when McMurray placed Reid at the men’s start, the highest luge start on the track. According to the filing, the usual practice and protocol is that athletes start at a lower start on the track “until they are accustomed to a new set-up,” as the lower starts result in reduced speeds.
Reid alleged that, as he rounded corner 15, he struggled to control his sled, which was travelling at a “very high rate of speed.” The injury reportedly occurred as Reid was exiting corner 16, nicknamed “Thunderbird Corner” and the fastest section of the track. The right side of Reid’s helmet purportedly contacted the short wall at a high rate of speed. It was the same point of impact on the helmet as from the Austria crash months earlier, the suit said.
Following the injury, Reid said that, as a carded athlete, he continued to receive Athlete Assistance Payments (AAP), which “entitled him to receive direct financial benefits.” In the subsequent carding cycle, Reid said he received an AAP injury card, which entitled him to continue receiving benefits while not competing.
In the 2021 carding cycle, however, Reid claimed that Luge Canada “failed to submit a supported nomination for Garrett’s AAP injury card, causing Garrett to be removed from the program,” the suit read.
As the designated national sport organization for luge, the suit said that Luge Canada was responsible for submitting a complete and detailed package to Sport Canada for Reid to renew his AAP injury card for the next cycle. Despite this, and Reid’s claims that Luge Canada was “aware of Garrett’s commitment to returning to luge and of Garrett’s extensive rehabilitation efforts to recover from his injuries,” the organization “unilaterally chose to remove Garrett from the NextGen Team, provided him no financial support or assistance, and caused his removal from AAP, contrary to Garrett’s contract with Luge Canada,” the suit alleged.
In a statement this week, Luge Canada said, “The health and safety of all of our athletes is Luge Canada’s first priority. Garrett suffered an unfortunate accident in 2019 which has impacted us all in the luge community very profoundly.”
The organization said it would reserve further comments with the matter before the courts.
Seeking damages
Reid is seeking general, special, aggravated, and punitive damages, as well as in-trust damages for care provided by family members. He is seeking the costs of the legal action, pasts and future health-care costs, as well as such further and other relief deemed just by the court.
“The selfish, high-handed, and callous conduct of McMurray warrants condemnation of the court through awards of aggravated and punitive damages,” according to the filing.
The suit argued that Luge Canada is both vicariously and directly liable for Reid’s injury and alleged treatment by McMurray, and owed a duty of care to safeguard his welfare, safety and well-being.
“Luge Canada knew or ought to have known of McMurray’s conduct towards Garrett but failed to take any or any reasonable steps to investigate McMurray’s conduct, remove McMurray from his coaching position, report McMurray to law enforcement, or revoke McMurray’s coaching license,” the court documents read.
BC Luge also owed Reid a duty of care, the suit said, and knew that Reid was “the subject of McMurray’s abuse and dangerous coaching techniques, yet took no interventional steps to protect Garrett from the risk of harm,” the suit alleged.
The filing alleged negligence on the part of BC Luge for failing to conduct any, or any adequate investigation into the Austria crash and/or the November 2019 injury, as well as for failing to report McMurray’s conduct.
The WSLS, meanwhile, also breached its duty of care, Reid argued. The suit claimed the Whistler organization was negligent for failing to take any, or any reasonable care, to prevent injury or damage to Reid from the unusual danger of the local sliding track; by exposing him to an “unreasonable” risk of harm; and for failing to take reasonable care that Reid would be safe with respect to the conduct of third parties, including McMurray, while on the track.
None of the above claims have been proven in court.
If residing in Canada, the defendants have 21 days from the date they were served the notice of civil claim to respond.
Representatives for Reid and the WSLS declined to comment for the time being, with the matter still before the courts. Pique was unable to reach McMurray or the BC Luge Association by press time. Check back with Pique for more on this story as it develops.
