Coaches at a boxing gym in Melbourne’s north-west will have their registrations suspended by the state’s governing body for amateur boxing after the gym was found to have links to some of Victoria’s most dangerous neo-Nazi activists.
An investigation by The Age into Legacy Boxing Gym, in Sunshine West, uncovered images posted in encrypted far-right chat groups which showed a secret December 3 event held at the gym, which was adorned with swastika and SS flags and other far-right symbolism.
A photo from the event shows prominent neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell posing with a child and dozens of other far-right supporters.
Boxing Victoria (BV) secretary David Pike called the allegations “disturbing” and said a probe into the gym’s conduct would take place next month.
“Boxing Victoria has moved to suspend the registration [of] all coaches involved with the Legacy Boxing Gym pending an investigation of the allegations, in January 2023,” he said.
“As an organisation, Boxing Victoria warmly welcomes and has representatives of all faiths and cultures involved in our activities and finds any attempt to bring extremist views into boxing to be abhorrent.”
BV said unregistered coaches could continue to work at Legacy Boxing Gym, but could not coach at, or enter boxers, in BV events.
Read the article by Ashleigh McMillan and David Estcourt in The Age.