In 1874 there were no laws or regulations protecting children from physical abuse from their parents or guardians. The first “child abuse” case was brought by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Since then we have People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
In our sport there are rules protecting the athletes against out right physical and sexual abuse and there are guidelines to protect the athletes from emotional abuse. Last night I received a request to a Facebook Group from Aimee Boorman COACHES for the ETHICAL TREATMENT of ATHLETES (CETA). This group is to start discussions about how we can make ALL sports safer and more “athlete friendly”. It’s not just for Gymnastics coaches. This is for all coaches. This is a new group started by Aimee. Last night there were 3 of us (Aimee, Wendy Bruce-martin and myself). Today- up to 19! Wahoo! We are NOT quite sure where this is going to go.
I cannot speak about other sports but USA Gymnastics is a membership driven organization. We have a voice. There are current organizations with votes on the Advisory Council, like the USECA, NCAA Men or Women, etc. No matter what your discipline you have representatives on the Board of Directors.
CETA will be another avenue to make your voice heard. To make a POSITIVE difference in sports. I think it is important to keep it POSITIVE and not just a knocking USA Gymnastics. We have all been to competitions where we have seen a gymnast TOTALLY BLOW IT. Just a complete self destruction. You watch the coach to see their reaction. They go over to the athlete, give them a weak smile that says, “oh well- we will fix things and show them next time”. There is no drama, there is no yelling or tears. Just a plan.
In my COACHES AS EDUCATORS Lecture I say:
If you feel you can: Harass, Demean, Isolate, Compare in a negative way, Put down, Intimidate, Make fearful in any way (being scared of YOU or another coach), Call Name (wimp, slug) or other disrespectful language, Erode Self esteem
YOU ARE IN THE WRONG PROFESSION
