Vaughn Millette resigns as SLB chairman and apologises, league to investigate, but Sheffield Sharks game is off

The Sharks owner and league chairman sparked a furious controversy in British basketball that led to a referees’ strike and the postponement of games with a series of allegations aimed at a match official on Sunday.

The posts, which were deleted on Monday, were published in defence of Sharks head coach Atiba Lyons who later wrote a heartfelt statement in which he said he had been victim of racial profiling and unconscious bias in the sport since 2018.

Millette’s comments led the Referees’ Association to withdraw their services, forcing the postponement of a league game between Bristol and Caledonia on Wednesday.

American entrepreneur Millette became principal owner of the Sharks last summer and quickly became league chairman when the new enterprise, SLB, rescued the league after a financial collapse of the previous owners.

Millette wrote on Friday: “To everyone involved in Super League Basketball I’d like to publicly apologise for comments I made on this platform regarding our match officials.

“In an attempt to defend Coach Lyons and raise serious, long-standing concerns, I recognise I have caused distress and publicly undermined our match officials’ integrity.

“It was wrong of me to publicly infer unconscious bias was responsible for Sheffield Sharks’ results and I apologise unreservedly to Ed (Udyanskyy) for that.

“In truth, this was something I realised very soon after posting, which was why I quickly deleted the posts and sent a private apology directly to our match officials on Monday morning.

“Given the impact of my comments, it has understandably taken a while for all parties to come back to the table and work towards getting back on the court. I would like to extend a big apology to all our fans and players who have, in that time, been impacted by match postponements.

“While those take place, it’s only right that I step down as Interim Chair of SUper League Basketball. I am pleased Super League and our Referees Association are fully committed to working together to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in our sport.

“I look forward to getting games back on the court.”

But his apology and resignation did not come in time to save Sharks’ game at Bristol Flyers, which was due to commence at 7.30pm on Friday night but was postponed two hours beforehand with the Sharks having travelled to the south west.

A Bristol statement read: “The game has regrettably been postponed due to the late resolution of talks between SLB and the Referees’ Association.

"All efforts were made to redirect officials to the fixture this evening, however at such late availability it has proved impossible to get all the officials to the SGC College Arena in time for tip-off.”

A statement from Super League Basketball later in the day read: “Whilst everyone within our sport has the right and duty to raise concerns about behaviour both on and off the court, SLB recognises the distress caused to our officials and Coach Lyons, by the public nature of these allegations.

“There are processes in place across all sports where matters such as these are raised and investigated privately without being shared in the public domain. In this situation these processes have failed both officials and Coach Lyons.

“As the board responsible for the governance and operations of our league, this week representatives from SLB have spoken at length with the Referees Association to discuss this privately and agree a way forward that protects our officials’ integrity if allegations are brought against them and their safety moving forward in their roles on court.

“All parties – including officials – are fully committed to investigating the allegations and working together moving forward to create a safe and welcoming environment where referees, players, coaches, fans and everyone involved feels respected and protected.

“Vaughn Millette has voluntarily stepped down as Interim Chair of the SLB while a full and thorough investigation takes place. Concurrently an investigation into allegations of unconscious bias will be conducted.

“The SLB apologises wholeheartedly and unreservedly for the distress that these public allegations have caused.

“In a sport and society where conversations like this are so easily ignored, the SLB and match officials agree that it is of vital importance that anyone raising concerns of discrimination is heard and supported.

“SLB is sincerely sorry for the inconvenience caused by the postponement of games this week, both parties look forward to getting back on the court.”