Athlete fights for rights｜Wins compensation claim after being frozen out following transfer; former karate elite athlete: Hopes sports sector is not about protecting a group’s interests and funnelling benefits
維權運動員｜轉會被「雪藏」索償勝訴 前空手道精英運動員：望運動界唔係保住一班人利益輸送
After training for years in the sport he loved and hoping to compete for good results, former elite karate athlete Lo Chin-pang was forced to stop because of an ultra vires policy adopted by a sports association. In 2015, he was expelled from his dojo because of a dispute between his instructors. After changing dojos, he was “frozen out” by the Hong Kong Karate Federation for four months on the grounds of a “transfer”, causing him to lose his status and funding as an elite athlete at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. He subsequently changed careers and became a fitness trainer. Two other athletes, Lo Sum-man and Shu Ching, experienced the same situation. The three filed a claim for compensation against the federation. High Court judge Herbert Ho Wing Au-Yeung ruled yesterday (the 2nd) that the three had won, saying the “cooling-off period” policy was ultra vires and served only to protect decision-makers in the karate associations to which the dojos belonged. The judge ordered the federation to pay the three a total of more than $1.57 million in compensation. Lo Chin-pang, Lo Sum-man and her mother held a press conference today in response. Lo Chin-pang said he had faced considerable pressure over the past decade, and the competition opportunities he had lost could no longer be pursued. He hoped the case would serve as a warning to the sports sector, prompting relevant sports organisations to avoid similar situations when handling comparable incidents in future. He also hoped organisations would “not be about protecting a group’s interests and funnelling benefits”. Lo Sum-man’s mother said most of the federation’s funding came from public money, and it should shoulder social responsibility and be accountable to the public.
為心愛的運動訓練多年，望出賽爭取好成績，卻因體育總會一個越權政策而被逼停止。前空手道精英運動員羅展鵬，2015 年因師傅間的恩怨而被逐出道場，轉換道場後被香港空手道總會以「轉會」為由，「雪藏」4 個月，致失去體院精英運動員資格及資助，為生計轉行成為健身教練。另兩名運動員羅心汶及舒晴有同樣遭遇，三人入稟向總會索償，高院法官歐陽浩榮昨（2日）裁定三人勝訴，指該「冷凍期」政策越權，僅保護道場所屬空手道協會的決策人，下令總會須向三人賠償共逾 157 萬元。 羅展鵬、羅心汶及其母親今開記者會回應，羅展鵬指過去十年面對很多壓力，所失去的比賽機會亦已無法追究，望今次案例可作為運動界的一個警惕，令相關運動機構遇同類事件時，避免類似情況再發生，亦望機構「唔係保住一班人利益輸送」。羅心汶母親亦指總會資金大部分來自公帑，應負社會責任和向市民交代。