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Recent reports of alleged sexual abuse and harassment of female biathlon athletes raises a simple, but troubling question: Why does this keep happening? Why do we hear, year after year, reports of men with power and authority abusing young women? Why do the entities involved, often organizations that oversee young athletes, express shock and anger, especially when we learn that the alleged abuse was reported, often repeatedly?
A simple answer is that we must listen to women when they say they are being abused and harassed. And we must act to stop it.
More fundamentally, however, we need to act before abuse happens, before it is reported.
A fundamental dynamic must change to make it clear to men that it is never OK to harass or abuse a woman or anyone else. Never. To make that message clear, there must be societal consequences for men who engage in this type of abuse, and not just legal consequences for the few who are prosecuted and found guilty, long after the careers and lives of their victims are forever altered and harmed.
The consequences and messages must come from other men that such behavior is cowardly, cruel and diminishes those who perpetrate it. It must become unthinkable for men to commit these heinous acts, not just because of legal ramifications, but because of a social consensus among other men that this behavior is unacceptable. Men must collectively stand up and respond to it, not with violence, but to strongly repudiate it and never excuse it.
For those who object to us singling out men, yes women can and do engage in abuse and harassment, but statistics show that more than 90 percent of victims of sexual assault are female, and 99 percent of perpetrators of sexual assault are male.
Earlier this month, we learned of about allegations of longstanding sexual abuse and harassment of female biathletes. Biathlon mixes cross-country skiing and target shooting. Although the alleged behavior was sometimes reported, athletes who have bravely spoken out say little was done to stop it and victims feared retribution.
According to reporting by The Associated Press, a biathlete from Maine endured inappropriate behavior and abuse from a coach for years, beginning when she was a teenager. Changes were made only after the biathlete attempted to end her life. The next day, the coach resigned his position with the Maine Winter Sports Center, a cross-country skiing and biathlon venue and program in Aroostook County. He was later hired by the U.S. Paralympic team. The coach was placed on administrative leave the day after the AP reported on the abuse in early December.
The AP, after speaking with numerous women in the U.S. biathlon world, summarized the situation like this: “While the men involved climbed the ranks of the sport, they faced retaliation that forced them to end their racing careers early.”
This is a horrid reality for too many women across society, made worse by the fact that it is allowed to happen again and again, including at the highest levels of competitive sports.
Nearly a decade ago, we learned that a physician for USA Gymnastics had abused young women in his care for years. Congressional testimony from superstars like Simone Biles stunned the world.
In that case, there were — finally — consequences. Larry Nassar, who also worked for Michigan State University and a high school and gymnastics team in Michigan, pleaded guilty to charges of possessing child pornography and criminal sexual conduct, involving 115 victims in 2017. He is serving 60 years in federal prison, concurrent with up to 175 years in state prison.
Yet, years after those shocking revelations, the AP reported, too little has been done to protect athletes in Olympic and Olympic development programs from abuse. An independent investigation focused on athlete safety found that the code of conduct for the U.S. Biathlon Association, for example, remains weak and lacks an appropriate forum for reporting instances of abuse.
The report found the U.S. Biathlon Association code of conduct failed to provide clear examples of prohibited behavior. There was also no way to file complaints online or anonymously, making it less likely people would come forward. These shortcomings are easy to rectify if sporting officials want to get serious about ending abuse.
An accompanying survey showed that 92 percent of male respondents said they felt comfortable raising concerns about athlete safety, but only 52 percent percent of women did. Women were also far more likely to say they feared negative consequences to their careers for reporting misconduct — 57 percent compared with 8 percent of men.
In addition, 43 percent of women said they had observed conduct in violation of the U.S. Biathlon Association’s code in the past year, compared with 25 percent of men.
Female athletes still feel uncomfortable raising concerns about abuse, even though they often witness or experience it. This allows a culture of abuse to continue.
Enough. Society and powerful organizations can’t continue to put the responsibility for ending abuse on those who are being mistreated. However uncomfortable it is, we must make it clear to abusers that their behavior is wrong and won’t be overlooked.
