SPORT NI has given the impression of being mired in difficulty for some time, but this week's sudden mass resignation of nine of its 14 board members marks a new low.
The organisation, which works to support and facilitate sport and physical recreation, is already involved in a difficult and long-running dispute over concerns that a proposed GAA stadium development at Casement Park in Belfast was unsafe.
Its chief executive, Antoinette McKeown, was also suspended from her role earlier this year.
Most recently, a report by government internal auditors last week set out serious allegations from staff about the leadership, management and culture within the organisation.
Following the resignations, Carál Ní Chuilín, the Sinn Féin minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, has said she is now to "intervene directly".
Arguably, given the evident challenges within Sport NI, Ms Ní Chuilín should have become more fully and directly involved at an earlier stage.
However, it is encouraging that she has pledged to take seriously the concerns expressed by staff and said that she will support the five remaining board members.
For every major multi-million pound development, such as those at Windsor Park, Ravenhill and Casement Park, there are many more grassroots projects and clubs supported through Sport NI.
While its internal machinations may seem of little direct relevance to the thousands of boys and girls and men and women who participate in sport on a regular basis, at both amateur and professional level, as volunteers, supporters or players, the organisation has a vital role to play in creating sporting capital.
Sport has a unique and enormously beneficial role in our society. It helps build community, can challenge sectarianism and improves physical as well as mental health.
It is now essential that the problems in Sport NI are fully and rapidly addressed.
