Greg Pearson - Russell Coutts 'Trump-like' criticism doesn't wash

Russell Coutts, Donald Trump, America's Cup
Oracle Team USA boss Russell Coutts (Getty)

OPINION: An American leader going off on social media is nothing new these days, but I didn't expect Sir Russell Coutts to be in the same boat as Donald Trump.

Yesterday morning Coutts vented on Facebook, taking shots at NZME journalist Dana Johanssen and Emirates Team New Zealand for reporting he deemed inaccurate and unbalanced, and the Kiwi syndicate's opposition to Oracle's constantly shifting the goalposts for the event - the latest being another change that reverses a rule barring rival teams from sailing together before the regatta gets underway in late May.

First of all, social media is not the correct platform for the man who sits as CEO of both Oracle Team USA and the America's Cup Event Authority to be airing his grievances.

Both organisations have a full roster of communications staff that would have shaped a clearer message, or I imagine perhaps told the boss it wasn't such a good idea.  But hey, even the White House can't keep the President off Twitter.

As for the argument itself, Coutts struggles to justify Oracle's place in the Louis Vuitton Qualifiers - the first time in 166 the defender will sail in competition with the challengers outside of the Cup Match.  

The added commercial exposure for all the team sponsors is also flagged, but then why hold the world's biggest sailing event in a tiny island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As usual cost cutting gets a mention, but when Larry Ellison's paying the bills I don’t think that's really a concern for Oracle.

Coutts is also a hypocrite to label Johannsen's reporting as unbalanced when he's not willing to be part of the conversation. Newshub experienced it late last year when Coutts was holding a clinic with young sailors on Lake Wanaka. We could speak to Coutts on the proviso the America's Cup was not discussed.

By the same measure, taking shots at Team New Zealand is also unfair, because the Kiwis have no right of reply. Heavy punishment awaits any team that dares criticise the event, a measure originally dubbed "the Dalton rule" when it was introduced before the last Cup.

The Kiwi syndicate hold an opposing view to Oracle on how the regatta should be run and what the future of the event should look like.  

That's understandable considering Oracle and friends are trying to lock in the next few editions despite failing to lock in crucial details for the current one.

Team New Zealand should be allowed to voice their concerns and not come under criticism just because they're not falling into line like the other challengers. I guarantee Team New Zealand aren't holding their tongues by choice.

Instead work has quietly progressed in Auckland, getting a little louder in recent times with their Flintstones-esque pedal powered AC50 making headlines in the media.

Coutts is clearly part of the Facebook generation, as he famously put it when Oracle's hi-tech vision for the Cup was unveiled in 2010. There's now only two months until racing gets underway in Bermuda.

Like Trump, Coutts probably has more pressing things to worry about than what he deems to be "fake news."

Greg Pearson is Newshub's sailing reporter