Whether your child plays hockey or does gymnastics, athlete safety is often on the minds of parents. Between organizing carpools and double checking the practice schedule, it’s not uncommon to find yourself asking questions such as, “Does my child have the proper safety gear—like a mouthguard or a helmet—to avoid injury?”
But it’s important to remember that athlete safety goes beyond physical safety. It also encompasses a sport experience free from misconduct and abuse.
Equipping your child with the necessary gear to skate onto the ice is often as simple as checking off a pre-season equipment list. But it’s a little more challenging to equip yourself with the knowledge to understand and address abuse, especially within the context of your child’s specific sport. And if you have multiple kids playing multiple sports, you’re up against an even tougher challenge.
The first step is education. Understanding what abuse in sport is can help you stay aware, allowing you to set your child up for a safer, more successful athletic season.
Below, we’ve listed three types of abuse and misconduct that can occur. Through our easy-to-understand definitions and sport-related examples, you’ll feel more confident in your understanding of abuse, and you’ll know what to look out for.
Sports are inherently physical. Kids practice challenging skills, they explore the limits of endurance, and they perfect performance. While playing sports may carry some risk of physical injury, coaches and other adult leaders have a responsibility to minimize those risks, while fostering an environment that’s safe and respectful.
Sport is no place for physical misconduct, which is any behavior done on purpose that causes physical harm to another person.
A coach throws sport equipment at a youth athlete after they make a mistake.
Playing and coaching sports involves emotion. Players often experience happiness after scoring a goal, and coaches sometimes feel frustrated at a missed pass. While emotion is an inherent part of the sport experience, that doesn’t mean coaches, other adult leaders, or teammates should act inappropriately, creating an unsafe emotional environment for others.
Sport is no place for emotional misconduct, which is any conduct that causes emotional harm, whether or not the person meant to cause harm.
A coach repeatedly shames or humiliates a youth athlete for how they performed.
The coach-athlete relationship is complex. Coaches are often in a position of power and authority, sometimes over athletes who are much younger. When this difference in power is exploited, athletes are at a greater risk of experiencing misconduct or abuse. Many forms of abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, often occur when there’s an imbalance or misuse of power.
Sport is no place for sexual misconduct, which includes a wide range of sexual actions that are done without consent, most often by an older adult or youth to a child.
Parents and guardians are in an ideal position to be a source of strength and empowerment for youth athletes. With helpful tools and resources on hand, you can feel confident in your ability to understand the warning signs of abuse and how to respond to keep your child safe.
For more information about abuse in sport and sport-related examples of misconduct, explore our Parent and Guardian’s Handbook for Safer Sport, take our free Parent’s Guide to Misconduct in Sport online training, or visit our webpage for parents.