The world of sports has been riddled with sexual abuse and harassment of young athletes by their powerful and publicly respected coaches (respected for producing performance results) for many decades, across all sports, regardless of sex. While there is no consistently collected data on the prevalence of these transgressions, there is reason to believe that news reports and limited data from national sport governing bodies represent the proverbial “tip of the iceberg”.
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As is true about the origins of many not-for-profit organizations, Safe4Athletes was born out of the personal experience of its founder, Katherine Starr. Having being an elite athlete who endured sexual abuse during the course of her career with no resources available to help her, she simply wanted to do something to ensure that athletes following in her footsteps did not have to repeat her experience. In her own words…READ HER STORY
The Olympics are fast approaching. Who doesn't love watching these glorious athletes defy the laws of gravity, overcome adversity, and battle staunch competition to soar beyond our imaginations? Who isn't swept up watching Shawn Johnson win the gold medal on balance beam, or Usain Bolt dash across the finish line, or Michael Phelps cut through the water to break every record many times over? We love our athletes. They inspire us, they make us believe the impossible is possible, and, truthfully, they ignite our belief in our own humanity. That's a tall order, but these athletes, many of them children, do this for us time and time again.
FOUNDING PARTNER
Q: Should coaches be allowed to physically touch athletes?
Q. Should coaches be permitted to have relationships with athletes that they are coaching?
Q. What constitutes physical abuse by coaches?
Q. What is considered to be emotionally or verbally abusive coach behavior towards athletes?
Safe4Athletes/Community Partners: PO Box 650, Santa Monica, CA 90406 - Tax ID-95-4302067
While it is virtually impossible to define every behavior that might be classified as abusive, it is helpful to review definitions and examples of commonly encountered misconduct.