A Culture of Silence in Sports & A Call to Strengthen Whistleblower Protections
By Sadie Mayhew
In 2016, the media sent shockwaves through the nation when it broke the story of the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. Over 500 athletes bravely disclosed the abuse they faced at the hands of coaches, gym owners, and doctors associated with USAG for over two decades. Disgraced national team doctor Larry Nassar was charged with assaulting at least 265 children and young women over more than 14 years, revealing a massive systemic failure to protect young athletes. In 2021, after a five-year legal battle by survivors including Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, USAG and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee agreed to pay a $380 million settlement.
The staggering breadth of the scandal exposed the inadequate reporting mechanisms in the sport and a culture that prioritizes performance over safety. Many of the gymnasts, some as young as six years old, were reluctant to file a formal report while grappling with trauma, shame, and the many other psychological implications of abuse. Sports journalist Joan Ryan wrote that “these girls are groomed from an incredibly young age to deny their own experience. Your knee hurts? You’re being lazy. You’re hungry? No, you’re fat and greedy. They are trained to doubt their own feelings.” When Michigan State University gymnast Larissa Boyce told her coach and idol Kathie Klages that Nassar was inappropriate with her, Klages said she was “misunderstanding a medical technique.”
A research article by James Newman in The Journal of Applied Sport Psychology explains how this fear of career repercussions creates a culture of silence that worsens the problem, prevents necessary intervention, and leaves athletes to shoulder the burden on their own (Newman, et al., 2023). Many of the young athletes feared being ostracized by their peers and their organizations if they reported abuse. The messaging from the gymnastics community was that rocking the boat meant being excluded from the sport or left off the Olympic team.
Athletes who reported abuse often found that their cases were mishandled or covered up. Gyms launched nebulous internal investigations instead of involving law enforcement. The cases were frequently dismissed as hearsay when the allegations were brought from a third party instead of the victim or their parents. One mishandled USAG investigation found that a coach sexually abused his students. Instead of firing him, he was put on probation – it was later discovered that he continued assaulting young gymnasts throughout probation.
The rampant abuse in the gymnastics community sounds a siren for improved whistleblowing practices in sports. USAG committed to implementing 70 recommendations, including the creation of an anonymous platform for athletes to report concerns without fear of retaliation.
The need for improved whistleblowing practices is visible in all sports. Marco Trungelliti, a professional tennis player who exposed match-fixing within the sport was ostracized by his peers as a result of reporting. Despite facing backlash and isolation from other players, Trungelliti, like many whistleblowers, believed it was important to reveal the corruption. The tennis community’s lack of support shows us exactly the type of challenges whistleblowers face, even when acting in the industry’s best interests.
Earlier this year, the official USA Cheer team wrote an article as a call for more whistleblower protection in the sports industry. The author says, “As a community of people competing against one another, we have an obligation to ensure that the competition is played by the rules that are in place.”
Another article evaluates the importance of creating an ethical organizational climate, one that encourages whistleblowing as a tool for accountability (Antoh, et al., 2023). They cite one journal saying that organizations that establish effective internal whistleblowing processes are better equipped to handle complaints and address unethical practices before they escalate. The research in that journal also makes it clear that an organization’s ability to create a supportive environment for whistleblowers is vital to ensuring that they feel empowered to report wrongdoing without fear of reprisal.
Whistleblower programs with strong confidentiality provisions allow for disclosures that can improve health and safety. With so many athletes scared silent, sports programs with clear whistleblower protocols could help athletes report unethical and illegal conduct without fear of reprisal to their careers and reputations.
Constantine Cannon advocates for strengthening whistleblower protections across all industries and to hold accountable those who try to silence the courageous among us who want to report fraud and abuse.
Have you considered speaking out about fraud or wrongdoing? You can speak to a member of the Constantine Cannon whistleblower lawyer team to report fraud today. Please do not hesitate to contact us for a free and confidential consultation.