SCM Staff Writer I Sept 29, 2025
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — John Coates AC (Australia), 75, has resigned as President of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), effective immediately, citing health concerns.
The decision brings to a close a distinguished 15-year tenure during which the institution saw profound growth.
Michael Lenard OLY (USA), the senior ICAS Vice-President, has assumed the role of Acting President, in accordance with ICAS Statutes.
Mr. Coates, who has been a member of ICAS since its inception in 1994 and became its third President in 2010, stated that his current health, following six months of chemotherapy treatment for cancer, no longer permits him to undertake the necessary international travel for the role.
”It is the right moment for him to leave the institution,” Mr. Coates said, thanking his colleagues and CAS staff. In his resignation letter, he expressed confidence in the body’s strength: “Thanks to the contributions and support of our ICAS colleagues and CAS staff, the quality of our arbitrators and the stakeholders’ respect for our independence, the institution I am leaving has never been stronger.”
Legacy of Growth
Coates’ presidency is marked by a period of significant expansion for the world’s preeminent sports judicial body. Since 2010, the CAS has tripled the number of procedures registered annually, rising from 304 to 917 in 2024. Over the same period, the staff at the CAS Court office has ballooned from 18 to 61 employees, and the ICAS budget has increased by CHF 20 million from CHF 4 million in 2010.
Lenard Takes the Reins
Michael Lenard, a lawyer and former US Olympic Team Handball player (Los Angeles 1984), steps up from his role as ICAS Vice-President, a position he has held since 2010.
He is also a long-serving member of ICAS since 1994 and was a former Vice-President of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC).
“It is a great honour for me to take over the ICAS Presidency,” said Mr. Lenard. “I look forward to ensuring, with the support of my colleagues, that the success story of ICAS and CAS continues.”
He also extended gratitude to his predecessor: “On behalf of ICAS and CAS, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to John Coates for his outstanding leadership during his 15 years of presidency; I wish him a prompt recovery and good health.”
The next scheduled presidential election is set for May 2027, although ICAS reserves the right to hold an earlier vote.
