Rowing NZ imposed a significant financial penalty and required Rumble to undergo counselling and alcohol education. Photo / Steve McArthur
By Dana Johannsen of RNZ
A top Kiwi rower, who was arrested in Seattle after a post-regatta celebration, bolted from police while being questioned over an alleged assault and then hid in a bush, official documents say.
As first reported by RNZ in May, Zack Rumble, 25, a member of the New Zealand men’s elite team, missed his flight home from the US with his team as he was in police custody. He has now admitted his actions were “not okay”, is banned from drinking while representing Rowing NZ and is on a final warning.
The May 3 incident prompted Rowing NZ to launch an independent review of the tour. The review, led by Don Mackinnon, found Rumble’s actions amounted to significant breaches of Rowing NZ’s code of conduct and his athlete agreement.
In a statement, Rowing NZ chief executive Simon Wickham said a range of sanctions will be imposed, including a “significant financial penalty” and a final written warning.
Rumble said he “deeply regrets” his actions.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, what I did was wrong, and I acknowledge that it was not okay, and will never be acceptable. I am doing everything possible to ensure that an event like this never happens again.”
Rowing NZ has previously declined to provide any details of what led to one of its athletes being detained for nearly 48 hours at Washington State’s King County Correctional Facility.
However, the official arrest report, obtained through the Seattle Police Department’s public records office, has shed further light on the incident.
The report says Rumble was arrested on two counts of assault and one of obstructing a public officer following a dramatic escalation of events as a result of Rumble fleeing from police during questioning.
The charges against the rower were later dismissed.
According to the documents, police were called to the Seattle Yacht Club at 10.43pm following reports of “two intoxicated guests fighting”.
On arrival at the yacht club, officers were flagged down by staff and pointed in the direction of Rumble. The Kiwi was described by officers as initially being co-operative.
However, according to the officer questioning Rumble, while she was awaiting her colleague to gather witness statements, the rower took a video call from a friend who encouraged him to join them at another party.
“About 30 seconds later, Rumble said, ‘alright, bye’, and pushed me on my left shoulder and took off running eastbound,” the officer described in her report.
As her male colleague gave chase on foot, a member of the yacht club pulled up in their pick-up truck and offered the officer a ride. She climbed into the bed of the truck and joined the pursuit of the Kiwi athlete.
Rumble was found hiding under a bush in the front yard of a residential property about 400m away, according to the report.
The officer described Rumble as being “non-compliant in coming out with his hands up”. He was eventually detained by another officer and taken into custody at 11.58pm.
The New Zealand rowing team made up of a men’s and women’s eight had been invited guests of the yacht club having competed in the prestigious Windermere Cup, which is traditionally held on the opening day of the boating season in Seattle.
According to the event’s website, prizegiving festivities kicked off at 12.30pm. Ten hours later, Rumble was at the yacht club.
According to witness reports obtained by Seattle Police, Rumble had been causing “multiple disturbances” at the party, including throwing empty cups at other patrons.
Eventually, Rumble left the group. When he attempted to go back inside the party, one of the patrons tried to talk to Rumble and advised him to go home as his teammates had left.
The report states: “Rumble then reached around and grabbed [the victim] around his waist. [The victim] advised that Rumble lifted him up off the ground” and he feared he would be thrown to the ground.
Another patron then intervened and pushed Rumble into the wall to stop him from hurting the victim, according to witness statements. The Kiwi received a cut above the eye in the scuffle.
When questioned by officers, Rumble gave several different versions of events.
“When officers confronted Rumble about his changing story, he advised that he did not remember what happened.”
The officer observed that Rumble appeared “highly intoxicated” but was “co-operative the entirety of the time of waiting” until he fled the scene. She said Rumble ignored several commands from police to stop.
The “distressing” events in Seattle sparked major logistical and financial headaches for Rowing NZ officials.
The national body previously told RNZ one of the coaching staff remained in the US to support Rumble as he dealt with law enforcement.
“This was a distressing time for the athlete and our team members and Rowing NZ has worked hard to make sure the athletes and coaches in our care have the support around them they need,” Wickham said.
Upon the team’s return, Rowing NZ engaged prominent sports lawyer Don Mackinnon to lead an independent review of the tour to “seek learnings and recommendations”.
But the national body’s handling of the episode has reportedly caused division among the athletes in its elite squad.
Rumble was allowed to travel to Europe last month to compete in World Cup events in Italy and Switzerland as part of the men’s four crew, leading to concerns it demonstrated a lack of accountability for bad behaviour.
Wickham said Rowing NZ’s response had been measured and appropriate.
“Rowing NZ felt it was important to gather and consider all information before any decisions were made in regard to this tour and any future tours. The independent review ensured that any members of our team had the opportunity to express any views or concerns they had about the tour in confidence.”
Following the completion of the review and discussions with Rumble, Rowing NZ imposed a range of sanctions and remedial actions.
The sanctions include a “significant financial penalty” and a final written warning, “understanding any further breaches of the athlete agreement, code of conduct or Rowing New Zealand’s core values may jeopardise Zack’s future in the programme”.
Rumble has also agreed to undergo professional counselling and complete an alcohol education course. He will be barred from drinking any alcohol while representing Rowing NZ, at least until the education and counselling programmes are completed.
He will formally apologise to Rowing NZ and the athletes and staff affected.
Wickham declined to release the full review, but he said findings indicate Rowing NZ can be confident the full squad “behaved in accordance with expectations” on the tour, “the significant exception to that being Zack Rumble’s behaviours on the last evening”.
“Rowing NZ will continue to ensure that expectations around behaviours of our team [athletes, staff and all support team members] are clear and that being positive role models, being professional and maintaining high personal standards are a part of who we are and what we do.”
-RNZ