Statement

Firstly, I would like to apologize to anyone that suffered because of my actions. I make no excuses for my mistakes and will accept any consequences for them.

I would also like to provide some context for the allegations leveled against me. I was holding off on composing a response to wait for the report from SafeSport to be released, which should be soon, but I felt it was time to say something. My expectation is not to change anyone’s mind, but just to give my perspective.

The allegations brought by Christine Chen were brought by her to SafeSport I believe in January of this year, and we at BBC were informed of that by her at the time. This is the first time anything like this had been brought to my or the club’s attention. According to the information provided to me by Geoff Stensland (owner of BBC), SafeSport immediately requested an investigation by detectives with the Bellevue Police as is their standard operating procedure. They conducted an investigation, and cleared it later that month, with the recommendation to not have an adult alone with a student at any time. That policy and other safety policies for athletes and coaches were brought to all of the coaches by Geoff in a meeting almost immediately. Subsequently, SafeSport began their own investigation into the allegations. They spoke to me many months later as their last interview, going point by point over them. The investigator seemed satisfied with what she had gathered, and I inquired as to what more we could or should be doing as a club and as coaches. We were informed that we were doing everything correctly and that a decision would be rendered within 60 days. That was at least 3 months ago, and we have requested that they provide a report as soon as possible.

As to the content of the allegations, I would like to provide some context. I don’t intend this to be a point by point response, but to give a sense of what has transpired.

My actions were undoubtably unprofessional. I did not grasp the impact of what I said and did could and would have on my students. I was both stubborn and lacked self-esteem and awareness.

When I first moved to Bellevue to be a coach, colleagues gave me advice to not try to be friends with the students. I thought I didn’t have to listen, and that I was different. I was coming in following an extremely popular coach in Raju Rai, and I wanted to be loved just as much as him. When I was a young athlete, the political landscape of the sport stripped all my training mates from me (whom I considered to be family) overnight. They weren’t allowed to speak to me or my family, and most wouldn’t even look at me. I swore that I would never put a single athlete through that pain, and that everyone that I coached would be like family. I had groups of kids over to play board games and video games at my apartment. It was always an open invitation. In the case of the allegation surrounding me asking a student to come over because my girlfriend wasn’t there, there were multiple students invited and the comment about my girlfriend meant that we all had the run of the place. When we went to tournaments, I would hang out with the kids, wanting to be one of the group and trying to counsel them through how to handle tournament situations like I would with my former teammates. I worked with many students that were self-harming, and more than one that were suicidal, invariably young girls. I had no training and little idea how to handle these situations.

In my first year or two of coaching, I talked to the kids as though they were my friends and didn’t make much of an attempt to weigh the impact of my words as I didn’t hold my role as coach in that high of esteem. I was playful and teasing with them; I didn’t put it together that my words would be discomforting or demeaning to a student. If I could go back with what I know now and redo how I spoke I would.

I would also like to address the allegations surrounding massaging students. Again, there is a significant amount of truth to the facts presented, but I would like to present context. Every athlete in our team program knows that if you have an injury the other coaches will refer you to Nick. I’m definitely not a doctor, but I have significant experience dealing with injuries, both my own and those of others. I will do everything in my power to help get you healthy and back on court as quickly as is safe for you. I will research the injury, draw on all resources I have available including physical therapists and trainers, and recommend you see the professionals in those fields as strongly as I can. Many students don’t want to tell their parents that they are injured, or their parents are unwilling to spend the money to seek qualified help. I empathize with this, as I only started doing real physical therapy and receiving manipulation treatment for my injuries after my injury-riddled career was finished. My coaches tried to help me in much the same way I’ve tried to pay it forward. Since then I have worked with many physical and massage therapists and trainers for myself and the kids. In these cases, I have responded by offering to help these students for free whilst making sure they know that I am not certified and can only do for them what I have learned through my own experience.

If a student requested this from me and would not see a trainer or therapist on their own (or we were at a tournament and they asked for immediate attention), I would to the extent I knew how provide active release therapy, myofascial release, or would apply Kinesio Tape or mild muscle relaxant as necessary. Many athletes of both genders requested this, and I would always attempt to make them as comfortable as possible. I without exception requested they inform me if any part of what was happening was making them in any way uncomfortable and would not continue if informed of that. Sometimes this required access to their back or upper leg. I was once informed, and immediately stopped. I was aware of the risk this afforded me, as that is unprofessional behavior for a coach unlicensed in manipulation therapy. My intentions were to relieve the student of whatever pain they were in, and hopefully improve their physical performance in the upcoming training or tournament. I was arrogant in thinking that what I was doing was a positive thing, and I was unaware until these allegations were brought forward that any athlete suffered because of it.

Just to be completely clear, I don’t mean this statement to any way be a diminishing of the validity of any suffering I directly or indirectly caused. I am devastated that the results of my actions here do not align with my purpose in life and wish to atone for this in any way possible.

I tried to be a coach, a friend, a counselor, a physical therapist, a physical trainer, and massage therapist for the kids. I was stubborn and arrogant in thinking that it was my place to play any of those roles beyond being a coach. I truly regret any suffering I caused by trying to be more than what I was qualified for. If there is anything I can do to help anyone who has made an allegation heal or more forward, please let me know and I will do everything in my power to do it. I have nothing but love for all my students and former students with no exceptions. I hope the BBC and general badminton community can move forward and continue to be vibrant and strong for years to come, with or without me.

I would also like to apologize to Christine Chen and her family, for the way I handled your leaving our program 7 years ago. I was young, inexperienced, and hot headed; I did not know how to solve that situation in a way that could work out to be the best for everyone, and I regret that things happened the way they did. I wish I could have been humble enough to make amends before, and I'm aware this is likely too little too late. 

Thank you for your time.

-Nick Jinadasa