Parents could help keep sports organizations accountable on sexual abuse, experts say
Global News
Beach was a 20-year-old minor leaguer called up in case the Blackhawks needed help in the playoffs at the time of the alleged assault in 2010.
Hockey parents rattled by yet another abuse scandal can press sports organizations about what they’re doing to keep young athletes safe, say experts, as accusations swirling around the Chicago Blackhawks’ renew concerns about player safety.
North Vancouver native Kyle Beach has come forward as one of the accusers at the centre of an investigation into how senior leaders of the NHL team mishandled sexual assault allegations against an assistant coach.
Beach was a 20-year-old minor leaguer called up in case the Blackhawks needed help in the playoffs at the time of the alleged assault in 2010.
The CEO of the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada says Beach’s story shows how athletes at every level can fall prey to abuse.
“If it can happen to an adult … imagine how vulnerable children are in sport,” said Marie-Claude Asselin. “If this is what happens to a professional hockey player, then what happens in the community arenas and rinks?”
Gretchen Kerr, the dean of University of Toronto’s kinesiology and physical education program, said sexual misconduct is often underreported, so it’s hard to gauge how pervasive it is in sports. But she said research suggests it’s one component of a systemic problem of abuse against athletes.
“Sexual abuse does occur, but not nearly as frequently as the psychological forms of harm,” said Kerr. “There are strategies used to develop talent in young people that can be potentially harmful psychologically.”
The burden shouldn’t fall to parents to prevent sexual abuse, said Kerr, but there are precautions they can take to help hold athletics organizations accountable.
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