724429
research-article2017
SPHXXX10.1177/1941738117724429Sports healthSports health
SPORTS HEALTH
Sep • Oct 2017
[ Editorial ]
Pediatric Tragedy
H
uman culture is the synthesis of our worldly experience, for better or worse. Therefore, cultural change in any society is often an arduous process complicated by traditions, age-dependent philosophies, and gender-related attitudes. Consequently, culture often dictates norms of behavior and acceptable boundaries for human relationships and interactions, reflecting our ethical and moral principles and representing our values as human beings. Various segments of society often further develop cultural standards dependent on their reason for organization; professions, sports, religions, and politics all can influence cultural norms. Athletic cultures, for instance, are heavily influenced by their innate desire to compete and win. Understandably, the world of sport demands high levels of dedication, motivation, and discipline, often generating a unique culture. Consequently, the extreme single-mindedness that some athletic pursuits demand can clash with cultural guidelines and norms, creating conflicts for the athlete in society. These conflicts often raise questions about the value of elite competition and the price of victory. Athletic pursuit dilemmas can cause mental anguish for adult athletes while they pursue their dreams and may result in regrets later in life about opportunities lost and effort spent. However, the more serious scenario is when children are placed into high-demand athletic environments under high pressure from adults to train and compete before they have developed the mental capacity to decide their own preferences. These children can become vulnerable to abuse in environments that have not been fortified to adequately protect them. A prominent example of such an unhealthy, shocking environment was outlined in a recent publication on the sport of gymnastics.2 In short, this publication reviewed the alleged sexual abuse of 365 gymnasts over a 20-year period. Not only is the number of the young women involved shocking, but the duration—20 years—suggests a long-standing cultural problem in the sport of gymnastics. The long-standing concerns about gymnastics and the recent allegations against the sport prompted USA Gymnastics to conduct an independent review of their policies, procedures, and bylaws related to sexual abuse and misconduct. They chose Deborah Daniels, a former federal prosecutor, to conduct the investigation,1 partnering with Praesidium,5 an organization with
DOI: 10.1177/1941738117724429 © 2017 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
400
25 years of experience specializing in preventing sexual abuse in youth and vulnerable adults. The voluminous 100-page report1 outlines the at-risk environment of young gymnasts, emphasizing how vulnerable young girls are in a sport that depends on very close relationships between athletes, coaches, and medical personnel. This environment often limits contact with and supervision by parents and places control of the adolescent female athlete in the hands of individuals responsible for making subjective decisions about who advances in the sport and who competes. Understandably, the desire to please the decision makers can complicate and sway the mind of adolescent females. To the credit of USA Gymnastics, they have tried to implement measures to protect young athletes as early as the 1980s. Unfortunately, as Daniels’ report clearly demonstrates, these efforts have not been effective in many situations. The report details “significant gaps and exposures” within the gymnastics world.1 In addition, the medical issues facing USA Gymnastics3 are particularly disturbing considering the long-term nature of the allegations. One has to wonder how a predatory situation could possibly involve so many individuals over such a long span of time without administrative leadership recognizing and addressing the problems. Clearly, answers are needed. One possible explanation for the apparent lapse in adult monitoring is that the full-time training regimen utilized at the elite level in gymnastics really does isolate these children from their own family, friends, and society. This isolation could explain a lack of communication between the child athlete and those who would protect him or her from the abuses. In such isolation, children may come to believe that such treatment from coaches or medical personnel is expected or just part of gymnastics. On the other hand, it is hard to understand how parents could accept a coach—or anyone else for that matter— taking charge of a child’s well-being, discipline, scheduling, and medical care. It appears that this tightly controlled environment with loss of parental involvement is terribly unhealthy and desperately in need of change, so much so that the federal government in the House of Representatives4 and Senate6 have recently proposed legislation to protect child athletes. This legislation will make it a crime for sports governing bodies to fail to report to law enforcement any suspected child abuse. Unfortunately, these laws have come too late, because
vol. 9 • no. 5
SPORTS HEALTH
according to the Praesidium report,1 the gymnastics culture appears to have victimized too many young girls over far too long a time span before this was brought to the public’s attention. As medical professionals in sports, we must be mindful of the potential for such abuse, especially with the youngest and most vulnerable athletes. While it appears that needed cultural change is coming to the sport of gymnastics, clinicians, therapists, and athletic trainers need to be vigilant to prevent such future tragedies in other sports. All athletic programs for adolescent females and males should be scrutinized for the pressures they exert and the environment they create to prevent the abuse of children. We are responsible for the well-being of children in sports. —Edward M. Wojtys, MD Editor-in-Chief
References 1. Daniels DJ; Praesidium. Report to USA Gymnastics on proposed policy and procedural changes for the protection of young athletes. https://usagym.org/ PDFs/About%20USA%20Gymnastics/ddreport_062617.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2017. 2. Evans T, Alesia M, Kwiatkowski M. A 20 year toll: 368 gymnasts allege sexual exploitation. The Indianapolis Star. December 15, 2016. http://www .indystar.com/story/news/2016/12/15/20-year-toll-368-gymnasts-allege-sexualexploitation/95198724/. Accessed July 12, 2017. 3. House overwhelmingly passes Brooks’ protecting young victims from sexual abuse act [news release]. Washington, DC: Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks; May 25, 2017. https://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ house-overwhelmingly-passes-brooks-protecting-young-victims-from-sexual. Accessed July 12, 2017. 4. Praesidium Web site. https://website.praesidiuminc.com/wp/. Accessed July 12, 2017. 5. Radnofsky L, O’Brien RD. Gymnastics: a call for culture change—investigator paints ugly picture of USA Gymnastics and its leadership. The Wall Street Journal. June 28, 2017:A14. 6. Senators introduce bill requiring U.S. amateur athletic organizations, members to report sexual abuse [news release]. Washington, DC: Senator Dianne Feinstein; March 6, 2017. https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?id=DFAC8B0E-AB09-4176-8D74-B9D803CFAB2B. Accessed July 12, 2017.
For reprints and permission queries, please visit SAGE’s Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav.
401
research-article2017
SPHXXX10.1177/1941738117724429Sports healthSports health
SPORTS HEALTH
Sep • Oct 2017
[ Editorial ]
Pediatric Tragedy
H
uman culture is the synthesis of our worldly experience, for better or worse. Therefore, cultural change in any society is often an arduous process complicated by traditions, age-dependent philosophies, and gender-related attitudes. Consequently, culture often dictates norms of behavior and acceptable boundaries for human relationships and interactions, reflecting our ethical and moral principles and representing our values as human beings. Various segments of society often further develop cultural standards dependent on their reason for organization; professions, sports, religions, and politics all can influence cultural norms. Athletic cultures, for instance, are heavily influenced by their innate desire to compete and win. Understandably, the world of sport demands high levels of dedication, motivation, and discipline, often generating a unique culture. Consequently, the extreme single-mindedness that some athletic pursuits demand can clash with cultural guidelines and norms, creating conflicts for the athlete in society. These conflicts often raise questions about the value of elite competition and the price of victory. Athletic pursuit dilemmas can cause mental anguish for adult athletes while they pursue their dreams and may result in regrets later in life about opportunities lost and effort spent. However, the more serious scenario is when children are placed into high-demand athletic environments under high pressure from adults to train and compete before they have developed the mental capacity to decide their own preferences. These children can become vulnerable to abuse in environments that have not been fortified to adequately protect them. A prominent example of such an unhealthy, shocking environment was outlined in a recent publication on the sport of gymnastics.2 In short, this publication reviewed the alleged sexual abuse of 365 gymnasts over a 20-year period. Not only is the number of the young women involved shocking, but the duration—20 years—suggests a long-standing cultural problem in the sport of gymnastics. The long-standing concerns about gymnastics and the recent allegations against the sport prompted USA Gymnastics to conduct an independent review of their policies, procedures, and bylaws related to sexual abuse and misconduct. They chose Deborah Daniels, a former federal prosecutor, to conduct the investigation,1 partnering with Praesidium,5 an organization with
DOI: 10.1177/1941738117724429 © 2017 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
400
25 years of experience specializing in preventing sexual abuse in youth and vulnerable adults. The voluminous 100-page report1 outlines the at-risk environment of young gymnasts, emphasizing how vulnerable young girls are in a sport that depends on very close relationships between athletes, coaches, and medical personnel. This environment often limits contact with and supervision by parents and places control of the adolescent female athlete in the hands of individuals responsible for making subjective decisions about who advances in the sport and who competes. Understandably, the desire to please the decision makers can complicate and sway the mind of adolescent females. To the credit of USA Gymnastics, they have tried to implement measures to protect young athletes as early as the 1980s. Unfortunately, as Daniels’ report clearly demonstrates, these efforts have not been effective in many situations. The report details “significant gaps and exposures” within the gymnastics world.1 In addition, the medical issues facing USA Gymnastics3 are particularly disturbing considering the long-term nature of the allegations. One has to wonder how a predatory situation could possibly involve so many individuals over such a long span of time without administrative leadership recognizing and addressing the problems. Clearly, answers are needed. One possible explanation for the apparent lapse in adult monitoring is that the full-time training regimen utilized at the elite level in gymnastics really does isolate these children from their own family, friends, and society. This isolation could explain a lack of communication between the child athlete and those who would protect him or her from the abuses. In such isolation, children may come to believe that such treatment from coaches or medical personnel is expected or just part of gymnastics. On the other hand, it is hard to understand how parents could accept a coach—or anyone else for that matter— taking charge of a child’s well-being, discipline, scheduling, and medical care. It appears that this tightly controlled environment with loss of parental involvement is terribly unhealthy and desperately in need of change, so much so that the federal government in the House of Representatives4 and Senate6 have recently proposed legislation to protect child athletes. This legislation will make it a crime for sports governing bodies to fail to report to law enforcement any suspected child abuse. Unfortunately, these laws have come too late, because
vol. 9 • no. 5
SPORTS HEALTH
according to the Praesidium report,1 the gymnastics culture appears to have victimized too many young girls over far too long a time span before this was brought to the public’s attention. As medical professionals in sports, we must be mindful of the potential for such abuse, especially with the youngest and most vulnerable athletes. While it appears that needed cultural change is coming to the sport of gymnastics, clinicians, therapists, and athletic trainers need to be vigilant to prevent such future tragedies in other sports. All athletic programs for adolescent females and males should be scrutinized for the pressures they exert and the environment they create to prevent the abuse of children. We are responsible for the well-being of children in sports. —Edward M. Wojtys, MD Editor-in-Chief
References 1. Daniels DJ; Praesidium. Report to USA Gymnastics on proposed policy and procedural changes for the protection of young athletes. https://usagym.org/ PDFs/About%20USA%20Gymnastics/ddreport_062617.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2017. 2. Evans T, Alesia M, Kwiatkowski M. A 20 year toll: 368 gymnasts allege sexual exploitation. The Indianapolis Star. December 15, 2016. http://www .indystar.com/story/news/2016/12/15/20-year-toll-368-gymnasts-allege-sexualexploitation/95198724/. Accessed July 12, 2017. 3. House overwhelmingly passes Brooks’ protecting young victims from sexual abuse act [news release]. Washington, DC: Congresswoman Susan W. Brooks; May 25, 2017. https://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ house-overwhelmingly-passes-brooks-protecting-young-victims-from-sexual. Accessed July 12, 2017. 4. Praesidium Web site. https://website.praesidiuminc.com/wp/. Accessed July 12, 2017. 5. Radnofsky L, O’Brien RD. Gymnastics: a call for culture change—investigator paints ugly picture of USA Gymnastics and its leadership. The Wall Street Journal. June 28, 2017:A14. 6. Senators introduce bill requiring U.S. amateur athletic organizations, members to report sexual abuse [news release]. Washington, DC: Senator Dianne Feinstein; March 6, 2017. https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?id=DFAC8B0E-AB09-4176-8D74-B9D803CFAB2B. Accessed July 12, 2017.
For reprints and permission queries, please visit SAGE’s Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav.
401
