A Safe Sport for all Sports

    As most Michigan residents know, in 2017 former USA Gymnastics athletic trainer Larry Nassar was arrested after 18 years of sexual abuse towards national gymnasts, 14 of them at Michigan State University. In response to Nassar’s case, the U.S. Center for SafeSport was established as a free abuse and assault training for athletes, coaches, and parents of any and all sports.

    “I definitely think it’s [physical and mental abuse] a problem nowadays, but I don’t feel like it's very spoken upon,” Mills Gymnastics level 8 gymnast and Pre-Team Coach Liberty Ruffner said. “In the gymnastics realm I think sexual abuse is more talked about rather verbal abuse because it’s a lot easier to know when you are being sexually assaulted.”

    Today, USA Gymnastics has implemented strict rules and policies for their athletes, coaches, and parents to follow regarding physical and mental abuse. The USA Gymnastics SafeSport Policy, located on their official website, follows requirements from the “SafeSport Code for the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement” as well as federal laws such as the “Protecting Young Victims and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017.”

    “It [USA Gymnastics SafeSport policy] has changed a lot because when it first started, we weren’t even allowed to hug our gymnasts because that was a ‘form of abuse’,” USA Gymnastics Judge and Mills Gymnastics Team Coach Jasmine Cofield said. “So it [the policy] has gotten better to where things have kind of let up a bit, so honestly it’s hard to keep up with all these changes. We [coaches] get emails from USAG and it will say major updates [to the policy].”

    One of the biggest changes USA Gymnastics (USAG) has made regarding a SafeSport policy is new leotard regulations. This regulation has not yet been implemented, USAG has pushed back this mandate for years. Starting this year, USAG requires all leotards that cutoff below the bra line in the back to be covered by mesh. Then, a new rule, supposedly starting next year, will not allow competitive leotards to go below a gymnast's bra line. These changes are being made so that leotards are not as revealing. Another rule change is that gymnasts are allowed to wear shorts and leggings during competition in an attempt to make athletes feel more safe and comfortable while competing. The official USAG rule book is located on their website.

    “It is sad for me that those things are changing because situations that have happened with just a handful of people are changing, kind of like the sport of gymnastics,” Cofield said. “You have kids that start competing at four and to even put a four-year-old in a leotard and think that someone is going to sexualize your kid, and to think when you go swimming you don’t think about these things it’s just what you wear.”

    Reports of abuse and misconduct have increased over 50% in the last year, according to the U.S. Center for SafeSport. They believe that this increase is because of a desperately needed cultural shift towards not only gymnastics but all sports. These results mean that athletes and coaches are beginning to report abuse and misconduct more often.

    “First, it [physical abuse in gymnastics] would be reported [to SafeSport], second would be right away calling the parents, and hopefully it’s in a private setting so everyone doesn’t know what is going on,” Cofield said. “I would definitely report first whether it’s reporting to the authorities or to the parents, and also be there as a support but kind of let them [the authorities] handle things.”

    Although groups such as USA Gymnastics believe that SafeSport is effectively reducing the level of abuse and misconduct cases, there are still unreported situations out there. In hopes of reducing this number, many sports organizations have required coaches and even athletes to take the SafeSport training course every year.

    “One of the main ones [questions asked during SafeSport training] was showing how to properly spot a kid, making sure that you don’t leave them [kids] unattended, and make sure they’re always being watched and cared for,” Ruffner said. “It [SafeSport training] affects me by really making sure that I am doing the right thing and keeping my kids safe. A big part of the sport is making sure parents are happy knowing that their kids are doing something fun, and also doing it safely.”

    When beginning SafeSport training, there are three different courses taught. The first course, which is the longest course, is an introduction to the SafeSport foundation and basic abuse and assault training. The second, third, and fourth years of training consist of shorter, refresher courses. These include recognizing and reporting misconduct, preventing misconduct, and creating a positive environment. These small refresher courses tend to rotate depending on what year of training you are in.

    “They [SafeSport] do a lot of definitions-based questions, they give examples, you take tests to kind of identify what you think physical abuse or sexual abuse is, they give specific things so that you’re aware of them but able to differentiate if it’s something you think is abuse,” Coffield said.

    Even though SafeSport training is educating coaches, athletes, and sports officials on how to handle, address, and prevent abuse and assaults it does not necessarily stop abuse in sports entirely. SafeSport is just one of the many resources out there to make coaches and athletes feel more comfortable standing up for themselves and others. The U.S. Center for SafeSport reports that physical and mental abuse, especially bullying, continues to be a major problem among athletes and can be a significant obstacle to creating a healthy emotional, and physical environment.

    “There’s a very black and white system, which is hard because something that may not seem malicious or something that may be out of character because of the way it is right now, and has not calmed down, things can be taken as something that is labeled abuse, even though it really isn’t abuse,” Cofield said. “So in gymnastics, it’s very hard because we have this cloud and these eyes on the sport because of everything that has happened.”

    The rise of abuse and misconduct cases reported suggests a universal adoption, and understanding of the SafeSport principles and how they must become a higher priority in youth sports, the U.S. Center for SafeSport reports.

    “It [SafeSport] really makes me more open and aware of what I am doing as not only a gymnast but a coach. I am aware of how things are run and making sure I lead by example, knowing I took the course,” Ruffner said.

    As SafeSport continues to evolve, so do USAG’s policies, gymnasts, and coaches. Rules and policies will change and members of the sport will have to change and adapt to these changes. Although gymnastics was the first sport to require SafeSport training, today, any USA-officiated sport athlete, coach, or staff member is required to take SafeSport training yearly.    

    SafeSport does not eliminate emotional and physical misconduct, it simply brings the topic to light allowing anyone to be educated on a topic that is prominent in an attempt to stop these abuses.