Controversy has ignited over Park Myung Soo coaching the Chinese basketball team at the Paris Olympics, despite being permanently banned from South Korean basketball in 2007 following a sexual assault case involving a minor.
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced that Park Myung Soo is coaching the Chinese team at the Paris Olympics.
Park Myung Soo, who previously led the South Korean women’s national team at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was expelled from the Korean basketball community in 2007 due to a troubling incident.
At that time, Park faced allegations in April 2007 in California, USA, for sexually assaulting a minor player twice in his hotel room while coaching the South Korean women’s national team.
In June of the same year, prosecutors arrested and indicted Park for violating laws related to sexual violence crimes and victim protection, seeking a sentence of one year and six months. Despite Park not settling with the victim, the court sentenced him to ten months in prison, suspended for two years, considering his intoxication at the time and his contributions to South Korean basketball.
Although he avoided imprisonment, Park was permanently banned from Korean women’s basketball, marking the second such ban after former coach Jin Sung Ho, who assaulted players in 2007.
This isn’t Park’s first involvement with the Chinese national team. He previously sat on the bench during the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifiers and participated in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
However, the Chinese team for this tournament has another controversial figure. Brett Sutton, an Australian coach for the Chinese triathlon team, has a troubling past. In 1999, Sutton was sentenced to two years in prison and given three years of probation for sexual violence against a minor. This conviction led to his expulsion from the sports communities in both Australia and the U.S.