Pierre Caillet, the manager of ASBH, finds himself singled out on the sidelines of cases of domestic violence, of which two players from his club, Taleta Tupuola and Hans Nkinsi, are accused. Recovered, he explains.
During the trial, on November 13, before the Béziers court, of rugby player Taleta Tupuola, convicted of domestic violence, Pierre Caillet, the manager of ASBH, was singled out by the deputy prosecutor. The latter noted that Shawna Tupuola, the victim, had declared during her complaint “that we didn’t want her to give her real name.” She would have added: “Pierre wanted the anonymity of my name to be respected.” The newspaper The team who has visibly had access to the file, also reports testimonies ensuring that Pierre Caillet tried to dissuade the victim from going to the hospital. “No way” retorts the coach, particularly affected by these accusations which he considers “slanderous”.
What happened on the night of October 5, after Taleta Tupuola hit his wife?
It was 4-5 a.m. I was sleeping. I received insistent calls from players. I finally woke up and answered. The player I spoke to on the phone told me, “Coach, there’s a problem. We don’t know what to do.” He explained to me that Taleta and Shawna had argued, that there was blood… I asked where they were and he told me that Taleta was sleeping and that they had told Shawna to come to my house . I barely had time to hang up when there was a knock on my door.
Who was there when you opened?
There was Shawna Tupuola, traumatized, in shock, groggy and Mrs. Dodson (wife of the second line from Béziers Editor’s note) who was visibly drunk and hysterical. She shouted in a mixture of English and French. For her part, Shawna Tupuola was lost. Wanting to calm the situation, she kept repeating “No drama, no police, please” (no drama, no police, please). Mrs. Dodson continued to scream. She told me that Taleta had tried to kill Shawna, that it was unacceptable, that her father (to her, Mrs. Dodson Editor’s note) is the owner of the Chicago Bears in the United States, that the coaches are all bastards… She mixed everything up. She asked what we were doing at my house. My partner’s children were crying. I asked him to leave my house and said “we’re going to the hospital.” My partner drove the vehicle. I was sitting on the passenger side and Shawna was behind. I asked Mrs. Dodson to come up with us too.
Did you get angry in the emergency room?
It seemed to me that there weren’t many people and I found that the treatment wasn’t going fast enough. That’s the only reason I got a little upset. We were then told to go to the entrance to get hospital admission tags. We gave him his vital card, I translated everything. I don’t see how to hide his name. Plus, there was the nurse in front of me. Once the labels were made, I called the club doctor to ask if he knew anyone in the emergency room who could give us information on the severity of Shawna’s injuries and if Ms. Dodson, who was walking in circles, could go see her. Once we received the news, I walked home. I don’t live very far away. It must have been 10 a.m.
What state of mind are you in today?
I feel sad and angry. I am accused of hiding domestic violence, of failing to assist people in danger, that I manipulated players, that I hid evidence. They are trying to make me bear something serious that has nothing to do with my values or my behavior. I am emotional. I give a lot to my players. Yes, I take blows to protect them, so that their family is well… It is clear that the facts alleged against Taleta are very serious. This is unforgivable. But now, for someone to make me out to be dishonest, for someone to smear my name, it’s scandalous. The only thing I’ve tried to limit is all the noise that has been made around this story. Because I want to protect my players, the club. And I repeat, I never wanted to hide the facts.
Isn’t that detrimental to your career?
Yes, it harms my function. I was supposed to have a professional meeting which was canceled because of this. I won’t let it happen. I was pushed around personally, I was not respected and this is harming my career, I am going to ask for a denial from the newspaper L’team, I am going to file a complaint for defamation and ask for damages in relation to the nuisance on my professional careers.
Have you been supported within the club?
During this whole story, the only one who gave me support was Jean-Michel Vidal, even though he is no longer president. I have just had the support of Andrew Mehrtens and Bobby Skinstad who assured me that they will provide me with a lawyer and that I will be supported in my efforts.
