Hamish Bidwell says New Zealand did Aimee Fisher a disservice last week. Photo / NZME
Hamish Bidwell says New Zealand did Aimee Fisher a disservice last week. Photo / NZME
This country did Hawke's Bay's Aimee Fisher a terrible disservice last week.
I don't follow canoe racing, which is the sphere in which Fisher was let down by all of us, but some people do.
In my day, it was because of men such as Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald.These days it's the Olympic deeds of Lisa Carrington that gives the sport whatever relevance it enjoys.
This isn't a sports column, so I won't go too deep into the weeds about crimes committed against Fisher. But they are a warning about what can happen to you when you are not part of the ruling elite.
A multiple winner of the Hawke's Bay Sportsperson of the Year, Fisher, by choice, is not part of Canoe Racing New Zealand's (CRNZ) programme, nor High Performance Sport New Zealand.
CRNZ is one of the alarming number of national bodies that have undergone a cultural review for their treatment of female athletes and Fisher now prefers to paddle under her own steam.
She does it rather well, too. Fisher is the K1500 world champion and added the 2022 New Zealand title to her list of achievements, which should have seen her selected to defend that world title.
Only she beat Carrington along the way - and that's not allowed.
A shameful best-of-three head-to-head clash between Fisher and Carrington was convened, in which the latter narrowly prevailed.
Hamish Bidwell
Never mind the protocols, never mind the original selection criteria. A national treasure faced the prospect of having their feelings hurt and status potentially diminished, but Fisher was entirely expendable.
When I began in journalism, each newspaper had its own style book which you were required to learn. Being lazy, I never did, preferring to lean on the expertise of our style gurus - the sub-editors - whenever I had a query.
At a number of places I worked, one of the few rules I can remember was no honorifics in sport. No Knights and Dames, not Mr or Mrs, just the person's surname.
Carrington, through no fault of her own, is one of a number of Dames out there who are still competing. Now I wouldn't bestow that kind of honour on any athlete, let alone one in the throes of their career, but we are a nation of forelock tuggers at times.
And so these tuggers wax on about "Dame Lisa'', and in doing so build the pedestal that results in injustices such as the one done to Fisher.
Pit a Dame and a relative nobody against one another and it's not hard to work out who the governing body, and the general public, are going to side with.
Time was when fairness mattered to New Zealanders. When sticking up for the little guy or gal counted for something.
And it still does, when it suits or the cause is the "right" one.
I love a good underdog. I love someone who's a bit unfashionable and not part of the system. Someone such as Fisher, who eschews the establishment in favour of personal integrity.
Hardly a day goes by in New Zealand without a minority group being offended by something and someone being "cancelled" as a result.
Well, the reverse happened here.
The majority imposed its will upon Fisher and all we did was sit back and deify the Dame.
