Western News – Expert insight: Abuse in Canadian sports highlights gender and racial inequities

Sport in Canada is at a crossroads. The ongoing Hockey Canada scandal underscores the need for broader societal action to create a safer sporting culture. The crisis in sport is rooted in power and control issues that remain unresolved. There is also at least a lack of awareness and, at worst, neglect or complicity.

In 2022, it emerged that Hockey Canada was using internal funds to settle sexual assault allegations. Criticism of Hockey Canada’s handling of abuse allegations has prompted an overhaul of the governing body’s leadership and highlighted the sports system’s failure to foster a safe culture.

This situation revealed some of the most insidious aspects of abuse in sport. But Hockey Canada is not alone in reckoning on persistent cultures of abuse in sports.

Stories of abuse and mistreatment are emerging in Canadian sports. In the past few months alone, hundreds of athletes have come forward to speak publicly about physical, sexual and psychological abuse issues, including more than 500 active and retired gymnasts.

But the government refuses to launch a national investigation. Rather, she referred the matter to Parliament’s Committee on the Status of Women. The implication is that abuse and mistreatment is only an issue for women.

There have been calls for an independent inquiry into safe sport by scholars, athletes, etc
former Canadian Federal Minister for Sport and the Canadian Center for Ethics in Sport (CCES).

A large majority of cases of abuse and mistreatment stem from the stories of young women, but the government seems to ignore these testimonies.

If we compare this situation to past events in Canada, we see some glaring differences that are deeply rooted in gender and racial inequalities in that country.

The Dubin Inquiry

The 1989 Dubin Inquiry involved a Canadian government investigation into performance-enhancing drug use and prohibited practices. It was created after Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who won the 100-meter sprint final at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, was disqualified for failing a drug test.

The Dubin investigation changed the landscape of drug testing in Canada and led to the development of CCES. Far fewer athletes were involved in the events leading up to the Dubin investigation compared to the current scandals. Nevertheless, they arranged for a royal commission of inquiry.

It is noteworthy that the individual athlete is the focus of the investigation. The international and national disgrace of a black man’s actions prompted the federal government to launch a national investigation. By all accounts, Johnson was vilified for his doping, actions that were widespread on the international athletics scene at the time.

When Johnson won, he was hailed as a great Canadian gold medalist, but when he fell out of favor through doping, his Canadian identity was stripped away.

Some felt that Johnson (and many other athletes) were being used as pawns by the big players, including the federal government. Someone had to take the blame for the “moral crisis in sport,” and no one was better placed to do it than an athlete.

Today’s moral crisis in sport

In the current moral crisis in Canadian sport, most of the victims are young women who have suffered in silence for years. Abuse in sport can be committed at any level against anyone of any age. However, research has shown that it is more common among young women with male coaches in positions of power.

Coaching is still male-dominated. The Coaching Association of Canada reported that only 34 percent of coaches are women, while 66 percent are men. This means that most young girls are coached by men in positions of power.

Global Athlete, an organization that advocates for athletes’ rights, has helped mobilize thousands of athletes across 15 sports to urge the Canadian government to address the abuse crisis.

Government action to date has included launching a study by the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Status of Women into physical and emotional abuse in sport and establishing Canada’s first Office of the Commissioner for Sport Integrity (OSIC).

Both approaches are far from independent investigation. Essentially, the government is self-examining and allowing sports organizations to self-regulate – clearly an approach that hasn’t worked.

Gymnastics Canada

In January 2023, MPs questioned Gymnastics Canada CEO Ian Moss about the organization’s handling of athlete complaints against a senior male coach. Moss’ responses to her failure to investigate underscore the organization’s inability to self-regulate and unwillingness to be responsible for the history of abuse in her sport.

The recent McLaren report was an attempt by Gymnastics Canada to understand the situation in the sport. The report provides detailed accounts of abuse and mistreatment by those who remain in the gymnastics community. But it failed to include displaced survivors and failed to achieve a trauma-informed approach.

It is another example of a failure to engage in a proper athlete-centric, survivor-informed, independent investigation that would hold the organization accountable for its culture of abuse.

While some have argued that a restorative justice approach is required for culture change, such an approach will not hold organizations and individuals accountable for their role in silencing victims and failing to protect young athletes.

Launching a national inquiry will send a message to all children, young people and elite athletes – especially young women – that they deserve protection. Prevention is imperative and athletes can no longer be silenced. The outcome of a national inquiry could set a benchmark for the rest of the world, just as the Dubin inquiry did for doping.

Laura Misener, Professor and Director, School of Kinesiology, Western University and Angela Schneider, Director, The International Center for Olympic Studies, Western University

This article was republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

*** Expert Insight reflects the perspective and scholarly interest of Western faculty members and is not an articulation of official university policy on the topics covered.