Athlete advocacy: an examination of existing reporting frameworks and next steps

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 2017 USA Gymnastics (USAG) scandal, which revealed that Dr. Larry Nassar, head team physician for US gymnastics, sexually abused countless gymnasts, is one of the most widely recognized cases of sexual abuse in youth sports. Not only did Nassar abuse elite US gymnasts, but he also abused many student-athletes at Michigan State University. USAG and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) acted and began implementing the SafeSport training program to educate athletes, coaches, and staff about how to recognize and prevent abuse; however, similar training has not yet been implemented within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and other major sports governing bodies in the United States. 5,8,12 The purpose of this review was to examine the current recommendations for preventing abuse put in place by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and discuss how sports organizations can continue to improve on existing frameworks for reporting non-accidental violence in sports. A combination of current IOC guidelines and existing trauma frameworks for abuse prevention could be an effective way to implement a centralized reporting framework for the NCAA in order to protect athletes. This would open up avenues for preventing perpetrator migration across sports, as well as creating an environment that has athlete safety as the highest priority.