Southland Sharks & SBA – Systemic Exclusion, Corruption, and Leadership Failures (2010-2019)
My experience with the Southland Sharks and Southland Basketball Association (SBA) over the course of a decade was a firsthand exposure to corruption, gatekeeping, and professional dishonesty.
Despite playing, coaching, and contributing significantly to the development of basketball in Southland, I was deliberately excluded, misrepresented, and undermined at every opportunity—primarily by Jill Bolger and her administration.
This wasn’t just about disagreements or missed opportunities; it was a calculated effort to erase my contributions, manipulate the system, and maintain control over Southland basketball at the expense of development, integrity, and truth.
Playing Career & Early Manipulation (2010-2011, 2016, 2019)
1. Contract Deception by Richard Dickel (2010-2011)
• Initially, Richard Dickel offered me a contract outright, securing my spot with the Southland Sharks.
• After I committed, he reneged on the offer, suddenly claiming I had to trial to secure my place.
• He assured me I would make the team if I trialed, but this was clearly a manipulative move to control the situation rather than honoring his word.
• This early deception set the tone for how leadership within the organization operated—dishonestly and opportunistically.
2. The Las Vegas Deception (2011)
• In my second year with the Sharks, Head Coach Richard Dickel told me and my best friend, Paratene McLeod, that we had an opportunity to play in Las Vegas, USA.
• This was a supposed pathway for further professional exposure—an opportunity that could have changed our careers.
• However, Dickel never followed up, never provided details, and the opportunity never eventuated.
• It became clear that this was never a real opportunity—just another empty promise used to placate players and maintain control.
3. Returning in 2016 – No Recognition or Support
• After working in Australia with JMI Aerospace, I returned in 2016 for another playing season.
• Despite my growth, experience, and commitment, I was treated as an outsider, with no administrative support or acknowledgment.
4. Attempting to Play Again in 2019 – More Deliberate Exclusion
• In 2019, I attempted to rejoin the team, but Jill Bolger actively interfered.
• She lied about a scheduled players’ meeting with head coach Rob Beveridge, telling me it wasn’t happening.
• 30 minutes later, Rob appeared, and Leyton Haddelton (a development officer) asked where I was.
• When I explained the situation, Leyton shook his head, recognizing the deliberate manipulation.
• To his credit, he brought Rob to meet me, but by then, the exclusion had already been cemented.
2018 Championship – Contributions Erased
5. Winning a Championship as an Outsider
• In 2018, I coached Orlando and played a direct role in leading the team to an NZNBL championship—despite not being an official part of the coaching staff.
• My impact was undeniable, yet I was never thanked or acknowledged.
• To this day, only Orlando and the Tall Blacks players—Tom Vodanovich, Dom Kelman-Poto, and Hyrum Harris—have recognized my contributions.
• Jill Bolger and the administration erased my role from team history, acting as if I never existed.
6. Continued Disregard Even After More Championships
• Tom Cowie later won two 3x3 championships with the Sharks.
• Despite my mentorship and sacrifices, my role in his development was never acknowledged.
Systemic Corruption & Manipulation
7. Blatant Corruption at the 2018 AGM
• At the 2018 AGM, I witnessed outright fraud and collusion.
• A vote was held for the board, but when they counted the votes, something was clearly wrong.
• Instead of announcing the results, they walked outside.
• They then asked Pauline, a current board member, to step into the hallway.
• A few minutes later, they returned and announced that Pauline had “volunteered” to step down, so that Jill’s right-hand man, Paddy, could remain on the board—despite not receiving enough votes.
• This is literal corruption. It was blatant, illegal, and undeniable.
8. Targeted Smear Campaign – 2019 AGM
• After the 2019 AGM, where I stood as a candidate for the board, Jill directly threatened Tom Cowie, stating:
“If you don’t want to have your opportunities with the Sharks affected, I’d steer clear of Izaac if I was you.”
• This was a clear intimidation tactic, demonstrating her willingness to manipulate and control people’s opportunities for her own agenda.
Deliberate Misrepresentation & Professional Undermining
9. Misrepresenting Southland’s Preferred Skill Development Coach
• As I was ascending as the top skill development coach in New Zealand, Jill Bolger and SBA misrepresented themselves again.
• At no request of Dan Peck, they publicly advertised him as the “preferred” skill development service in Southland.
• Dan Peck personally acknowledged this to me, almost verbatim.
• He also admitted that he needed the money because he had a young family, and while I was disappointed, I told him I understood his position.
• This was yet another example of SBA actively working to diminish my contributions while controlling the basketball landscape in Southland.
SBA’s Direct Sabotage of My Basketball Development Company (2018)
10. Deliberate Suppression of Basketball Growth in Southland
• In 2018, I approached Jill Bolger to inform her that I was starting a basketball skill development company—an initiative aimed at growing the sport and providing structured development pathways for players in Southland.
• Instead of acknowledging or supporting the initiative, Jill’s first response was immediate hostility:
“Good luck. Bert tried that and failed. You’ll be treated as competition.”
• This was a direct contradiction of SBA’s own publicly stated mission—which claimed they would work with like-minded businesses to develop the sport.
• From that moment forward, she actively worked to attack and discredit my work, despite the fact that my efforts were aligned with the long-term success of Southland basketball.
Final Reflection
My decade-long involvement with Southland basketball exposed me to corruption, exclusion, gatekeeping, and systemic incompetence.
The greatest lesson I learned was that the truth doesn’t matter to people who control the system—but it matters to those who live with integrity.
SBA’s actions proved that they did not care about basketball development, only consolidating power.
But truth prevails over time—and everything I have built since leaving that world has been driven by the lessons learned from their corruption and failure to foster genuine growth.