Women in sports are finally getting the credit and affirmation they so justly deserve – but it is coming at a price many outside the sporting community are not aware of. The public and, more importantly, the parents of many female student-athletes are unaware of the atrocities no few female athletes are made to suffer, nor do they understand some of the gut-wrenching decisions many will have to make in pursuit of their dreams.
Tara Skudera, assistant director of the Crime Victims Council (rape and sexual abuse), in Allentown, Pa., recently told me: "It is reprehensible any time a person in a position of power abuses that relationship and sexually harasses and/or assaults another individual. Coaches are trusted mentors for students and are in an assumed position of power." Yet, that is exactly what is taking place today, unbeknownst to most of the families and communities of the victims.
The ugly truth is that many of our daughters are being violated, and it is happening much more than most can begin to imagine or know. College athletic directors and the National Governing Body, or NGB, of many sports, in factuality, are content to look the other way until forced to do otherwise. Brad Wolverton, senior editor-athletics, for the Chronicle of Higher Education, who wrote the article "A coach's secrets" in same (Dec. 8, 2006), told me: "Athletic directors [and NGBs] are blinded"; for them it is about winning and money, which equals power.
And nowhere is the pageantry of money, winning and power more represented than in the "revenue sports" that fuel the engine of Olympic competition – with the summer games that will take place in Beijing, China, in 2008.
Many women pay a devastating price to accomplish their dreams of Olympic or national championship medals. As Lindsay Rovegno wrote in May of this year, "At least seven current or recently graduated Clemson University female student-athletes terminated their pregnancies, primarily because they were afraid of losing their athletic scholarships" ("Athletes often forced into heartbreaking decisions"; ESPN.com: NCAA; May 12, 13, 2007).
Lindsay gave face to a Clemson University student-athlete who became pregnant and was confronted with the reality of losing her scholarship, not making the Olympic team and the possibility of not being able to finish her degree. Seeking help and guidance from a school administrator, the student is told: "You know coach isn't going to give you back your scholarship just like that. If she [the coach] finds out, and if you decide to keep it [the baby], [everything] is gone." Out of fear, the student aborted the child.
Imagine if this were your child. It is one thing to hope your relationship is such that your daughter can come to you in said situation, but for many it isn't. It is worth noting that not all student-athlete pregnancies are resultant from promiscuity. Some student-athletes faced with the decision are married, and some are in committed relationships intending to marry the unborn child's father.
But there are also those who are the victims of coaches of revenue sports, who exert tremendous power over the lives of their wards. From Brad Wolverton I learned, "There are often rumors surrounding female student-athletes who transfer [to other schools]." There are whispers about why she is leaving a particular program, but the athlete herself is afraid to discuss it. Sadly, Wolverton says, "victims are the ones not disclosing what happens."
Pat Fagan, a senior fellow at the Family Research Council, said this is a "crime against family, marriage and children." I agree that it directly contributes to the deconstruction of the family. Halima Karzi, assistant director of Foreign Policy and International Women's Issues of the Independent Women's Forum, said this "is something that should be raised to the level of parents." Unfortunately, we are finding out that is not happening.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center provided a comprehensive report by the U.S. Department of Justice entitled, "The Sexual Victimization of College Women," completed in 2000. It reported that fewer than 5 percent of completed and attempted rapes were reported to law enforcement officials.
NGBs and colleges, et al., are quick to refer to their codes of conduct that personnel must sign. Suffice it to say, they are practically as worthless as the recycled paper they are written on. Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling, while not responding to all of my stated questions – which included queries about the organization's budget, how monies were allocated, the NGBs' apparent undermining of the program and the socio-restrictiveness of the sport – instead blathered on about how all of their personnel are required to sign and adhere to a code of conduct. The problem is, albeit such a code instructs athletes and/or coaches to make any untoward behavior known, silence by the victim is still the order of the day. In many cases, some experts argue that the victim does not realize she is being used for the pleasure of another until it is too late.
In speaking with no fewer than eight national women's organizations, the one point on which all agree is that in many instances assaults go unreported. And in the absence of a formal complaint, plausible deniability becomes the order of the day, by coaches, athletic directors and NGBs. If the accused has a stellar record of accomplishment, rumors and allegations are overlooked or dismissed – evidence the case of Anson Dorrance, women's soccer coach at University of North Carolina.
As parents, we have a responsibility to know what is happening with our student-athlete daughters. As assets to our communities, it is also our responsibility to make safe the way for those who are from challenged family situations. As anti-abortionists, we must call for the full wrath of God and inquiry against NGBs that ask the media to expose these predators for them, while they plead ignorance and/or hide behind fallacious paper principles.
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