Beware... Child Predators Are Lurking
How two child advocacy organizations are leading the fight against sexual abuse in youth sports.
It’s been over three years since Dr. Larry Nassar was convicted of sexual abuse involving hundreds of teenage female athletes. But the fallout from his three-decade predatory reign of terror, along with a continued lack of action by the institutions that employed his services, is still being felt.
Louise Harder is a Nassar survivor. As a competitive diver at a Michigan high school, she began seeing him for back problems at age 15. She endured his repeated sexual violence for about a year and a half. Her attorney estimates she saw him 30 to 40 times during that period.
Like many other young women, Harder was reluctant to come forward at first. She tried to push the emotional pain to the back of her mind and move on with her life.
It wasn’t until Nassar’s sentencing that she decided to break her silence. The constant media attention forced her and other survivors to relive their nightmare on a daily basis. She realized coming forward was the best way to start the healing process.
“You couldn’t turn on the TV and not see his face during the sentencing,” Harder told me during a phone interview from her office in East Lansing.
Slow to Change
The Nassar scandal isn’t the only high-profile case that garnered media attention. A recent Sports Illustrated piece revealed more disturbing occurrences of abuse before and after Nassar’s case, despite pledges of reform by USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted in 2012 on 45 counts of sexually abusing young boys.
Sadly, these are not isolated incidents. There are thousands of others that don’t grab headlines, but are no less traumatic to those who are forced to carry the emotional scars of repeated abuse. Many cases are never reported, with the painful secret known only to the perpetrator and victim.
Why is sexual abuse, or any form of abuse, allowed to have such free rein in our youth sports culture? The biggest reason, according to Harder, is the bottom line.
“This has been going on for decades,” she explained. “It’s been documented. Money comes before athletes time and time again. If (institutions) didn’t have to and weren’t pushed and pressured as much as they have been, I don’t think we’d see any change.”
Fierce competition is a major deterrent to victims coming forward. Most athletes realize they are easily replaceable, with others waiting in line if they step aside for any reason. This creates immense pressure to remain silent about physical or emotional pain, including abuse.
Which leads to perhaps the most paralyzing roadblock of all: fear. Like many survivors, Harder was afraid no one would believe her. Predators often position themselves as pillars of their sport or community. Nassar was especially adept at gaining a parent’s trust to the point of allowing them to be present when he examined their child. Since he had his back to them most of the time, they had no idea abuse was taking place in their presence.
Rather than risk the possibility of harsh retribution for speaking out against a powerful authority figure, victims often choose to endure the pain alone.
“Child predators that go after series of children groom the parents as much as they groom the children,” explained Marci Hamilton, founder and CEO of Child USA, a think tank in Philadelphia focused on protecting children from abuse. “Parents need to understand that they are being treated in a special way, sometimes in order to get access to time alone with their children.”
An Army of Protection
Sexual abuse victims are taking up the fight to stop predatory behavior. Shortly after Nassar’s sentencing, a group of about 40 women who suffered his abuse formed The Army of Survivors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing awareness, accountability and transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels.
Harder was approached by the group’s founder and current president, Grace French, about becoming involved. She became a charter board member and currently serves as treasurer and strategist.
The group is working to bring about change through resources, education and advocacy.
“We can talk, but without implementing policy, and making sure it’s enforced, there’s really no change that’s going to happen,” Harder said.
A Bill of Rights for Athletes
In 2020, The Army of Survivors and Child USA began collaborating on a Child Athlete Bill of Rights. The initiative closely follows Child USA’s Gold Standard Policy and 2021 Care Report. The Gold Standard offers policies organizations can use in protecting children from abuse. The Care Report is a global study examining how the rights of elite athletes have been protected as children in youth sports.
The Bill of Rights was designed to inform athletes of their empowerment and the right to say no.
Specific proposals include:
Comprehensive background checks.
Education for children and adults.
Adoption of a comprehensive code of conduct.
Supervisory safety procedures.
A policy allowing children to report abuse without fear.
Prohibiting one-on-one interactions with children.
Empowering athletes and/or staff to report “red flags” directly to police or child welfare officials.
Providing ongoing support to survivors.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the United States. It would establish a set of national regulations governing youth sports that would be enforceable through an organization’s insurance policy.
“The problem has been that athletes (are) essentially commodities in sport,” Hamilton said. “The more successful and talented they are, the more commoditized they get. This is a reminder that they are human beings and they really do have a right to their own bodies and emotional well-being.”
No Time Limit for Justice
While the current federal code does not impose a statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, many state laws do. Last week, Representative Gwen Moore (D-WI-4) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced the No Time Limit for Justice Act, a bill that encourages states to drop statutes of limitations for criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits involving child sexual abuse.
The bill would offer states a five percent increase in federal grant awards if they comply. This would allow victims to seek justice when they are ready to come forward.
“The trauma of sexual abuse is so great that most victims do not report their abuse until adulthood,” Representative Moore said in a statement. “And several statutes of limitations on the state level end in as little as three years after the crime is committed, an unreasonably small window for victims to hold their perpetrator accountable.”
Leading by Example
Some youth organizations are becoming more proactive in the prevention of child predator behavior within their programs. In Kansas City, SafeDefend, Not Your Daughter, and the Kansas Youth Soccer Association are putting together a training program to deal with the issue.
The objective is to implement steps promoting positive relationships between players and adults, as well as protect against bad behavior. The program calls for limiting physical contact to high fives and fist bumps, and having discussions on what’s appropriate to say over the phone and on social media.
Parents can also play a crucial role in protecting their child from abuse. One of Harder’s biggest fears in coming forward was embarrassing her family or causing them to blame themselves for what had happened. She encourages parents to look for a change in their child’s behavior, getting sick more frequently, increased injuries, changes in appetite or sleep patterns, and other warning signs.
“A lot of times, we like to chalk it up to puberty or hormone changes,” Harder explained. “But (they should) look to see if this is just normal child development or is there possibly something else going on, and ask questions.”
A Safe Sanctuary
Change won’t happen overnight. But with policies like the Child Athlete Bill of Rights and proposed congressional legislation, there is hope on the horizon. Above all, Harder wants victims to know they have a voice, and people are willing to listen without questioning their word or imposing judgment.
“To survivors out there, there are organizations, there are people that believe you,” Harder said. “We hear you, we see you. We support you. We’re here for you. You are not alone.”
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If you have experienced sexual abuse and would like to seek help, here is a list of resources you can contact.
To get in touch with The Army of Survivors, visit their Contact Page.
To find a local Child Advocacy Center, visit the National Children’s Alliance here.
For information on advocating for better child protection laws including SOL’s, visit Child USAdvocacy.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available toll-free, 24/7. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673).
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline can also be reached toll-free at: 800-273-8255.
Hot Takes and Great Reads
Any Olympic athlete will tell you winning a medal for their country is like no other feeling they’ve ever experienced.
That’s what makes this story so remarkable. Polish javelin thrower Maria Andrejczyk won a silver medal in Tokyo. But she decided to auction it off for $125,000!
No, she wasn’t desperate for the money. The funds will be used to help an infant receive a life-saving heart surgery.
Andrejczyk put in years of hard work to earn that medal. She barely missed winning one at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But her selfless act shows what’s truly important.
You can read the full article here.
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On August 4, the Los Angeles Rams hosted a Gatorade Junior Training Camp at their UC Irvine facility for Youth Sports Day. The team provided kids with Gatorade and power bars. Former Rams defensive back LeRoy Irvin gave a speech about character, perspective, and teamwork on and off the field.
Click here for more on this story.
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Could women’s baseball become an NCAA sport? It will if Justine Siegal has anything to say about it.
The first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball team is on a mission to create opportunities for girls and women to play baseball. At age 13, Siegal was bluntly told by a coach, “I don’t want you on my team. Girls should play softball.”
Obviously, that coach was both narrow-minded and mistaken. Siegal has spent years advocating for a more level playing field for girls. Her next goal: to make collegiate baseball a sport for women. Find out more on her website, Baseball for All.
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