In 1999, he pleaded guilty in an Australian court to five sexual offences committed in the late 1980s against a teenage girl swimmer whom he was coaching.
[10] Sutton grew up, under pressure from a father who was a demanding swim coach, in a harsh environment and an extremely violent home.
According to Sutton, the squad was very successful but ran into problems when the parents of his swimmers thought he was too young, so he switched to training greyhounds[11] and racehorses.
He added that unfavourable rumours that Sutton "destroyed" and "brutalised" his athletes were started around the same time by rival coaches, jealous of his appointment.
"[12] Sutton emphasises the supreme importance of mental attitude, especially in Ironman, where, as he told Chrissie Wellington, "there are six times in every race where you enter a dark place of doubt and must have that passion to overcome.
"[3] Examples of the importance of mental strength given by Sutton include: determination; the need to remain calm and composed when things go wrong; building on mistakes rather than dwelling on them; dealing positively with injury rather than fearing it; resting the mind as well as the body—these are "the makings of a great triathlete", otherwise "success will always be elusive.
[9][15] At the start of her trial period with Sutton, he told Chrissie Wellington that she needed to "switch off" her mind and "follow orders and not question everything"—something she found very difficult to do.
[16] He is sceptical of gadgets such as power meters and heart rate monitors, and prefers instead to draw on his experience as a swim coach and as a trainer of greyhounds and racehorses.
He has started projects through teamTBB, such as TriCozumel, that locally promote youth exercise and as well as avoiding obesity and a life of drug use.
"[22] Former pro triathlete Alec Rukosuev, who coaches at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, said, "Guys like Brett are the ones doing it right.
He also instills a belief within the athlete that they can achieve their goals ... Brett takes away the doubt and just gives them a task to focus on and that helps them keep a clear mind when competing.
[25] Sutton is against aero helmets because they do not allow the head to lose sufficient heat: "The athletes cook their brain and run a marathon.
"[18] Sutton describes running shoes with built-up heels, heavy cushioning and stability plates as "injury city".
[25] Sutton is an outspoken critic of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) and its former president, Les McDonald, believing the organisation has failed to promote and support professional triathletes.
Sutton was given a two-year sentence which was suspended partly because, in the words of the judge, "a large number of leading athletes will suffer disadvantage from your absence from the scene".
Reporter Steven Downes believes that Sutton escaped jail because the judge did not want to cost Australia any Olympic medals.
[27] In August 2000, the year following the trial, Dan Empfield wrote that Sutton had also paid a price, both professionally and personally.
[28] In May 2000, Sutton wrote, "The sport does not have the right, either morally or legally, to persecute athletes who have done nothing wrong", outlining discrimination against Loretta Harrop, whom he described as the "undisputed best in the world", Andrew Johns ("the best human being alive"), Siri Lindley ("one of nature's kindest") and Joanne King, who won the 1998 world championship, but remained largely ignored because of her association with Sutton.
He referred to ITU chief Les McDonald throwing Lindley's winning flowers at her, "along with some obscenities, at the very moment for which she had dreamed for only God knows how long.
"[29] In response to criticism, Chrissie Wellington wrote that she did her "due diligence" before her trial week in January 2007 with Sutton's squad.
And I speak from experience", and said that her decision about Sutton was "based on evidence I gathered, both from Brett and from other athletes who were present at the time the incident took place.
This coupled with my own gut feeling about Brett as a man and as a coach led me to accept the offer of a place on the team.
Later, in a published document, the High Performance Manager at the time, said that I asked him to conduct interviews with all girls that I had any interaction with, from 20 yr old and under.