What's next?

While I'm encouraged by the fact that the women who were sexually abused by their coach more than 20 years ago have come forward to tell their stories, I'm anxious to see where the conversation goes. It isn't enough to run a few stories that appeal to people's sense of horror and prurient outrage. They have to lead to something. A discussion about why this is prone to happening in the sport, for starters. Some commenters take the position of: well, so what. The percentage of pedophiles in the gym community is the same as the percentage in the general population. To this I say: pishaw. I don't think so. I'll admit, I haven't done a quantitative assessment. But think about it... girls in leotards, trusting of authority, needing to be spotted by eager coaches. Ogling and fondling can be said to be part of the gig. It's no wonder the sport draws some pedophilic men. This isn't to say that they all are. Make no mistake. Most, by a LONG shot, are NOT. But as far as percentages go... I'd be willing to wager that it's higher than the population at large.

More importantly, what is the sport's governing body going to do about it? A list on some website won't be enough. Rules are required. Rules around parents being present, no traveling alone with the girls, a promise to pursue the offenders to the fullest extent of the law. Not just place them on a banned list. And, by the way, the list doesn't prevent coaches from coaching again. There are those that have found their way back into gyms that simply don't give a damn. (I believe part 2 of the OC Register piece will touch upon this very issue.) And there is no punishment for a gym that employs an offender. So what's to stop a guy?

Parents have the final accountability for their children. No doubt. But there should be basic levels of protection afforded to children in educational, developmental and recreational settings. We expect it in the schools. In the pediatrician's office. And in any government sanctioned and/or funded organization. So why not here?

Finally, will anyone ask the question of whether or not the sport creates the conditions for abuse that is more diffuse and widespread - broader and more varied - than sexual abuse? The power dynamic, the youthfulness of the girls, the willingness of the parents to hand over responsibility for the chance at medals, the lack of regulation? There is emotional manipulation and abuse, physical abuse as well as sexual abuse, that has long lasting affects. It is insidious and destructive and absolutely cruel. 

That's the critical conversation to be having. Do these examples represent something bigger and more widespread? What do we as parents, protectors of children in general, expect to happen within sports in general to ensure that our children aren't hurt, abused? Rather they derive the full benefit of sport - healthy bodies and self-esteem. And maybe, just maybe, a medal. And even better, if no medal is at the end of the road, a strong work ethic, a great sense of sportsmanship and an understanding that winning is perhaps, not everything.