Child sex abuse cases tighten coaching scrutiny

Jim Slater

Two high-profile US child sex abuse cases involving college assistant coaches have sparked calls for more background checks and tighter scrutiny on adults working with youth in sports.

Former Penn State University assistant American football coach Jerry Sandusky faces charges of sex abuse with eight boys over a 15-year period — one witness telling a grand jury he saw Sandusky rape a 10-year-old boy in a shower.

Sandusky, arrested on November 5, denied any sexual abuse but has admitted showering with young boys and was charged in a civil lawsuit by another man with more than 100 incidents of sexual abuse in his home, on campus and on road trips.

Administrators

Concerns that administrators knew about claims against Sandusky but did not tell police led to the firing of Penn State’s president and legendary gridiron coach Joe Paterno. Two others face criminal charges.

“Why were so many people, for so long, making choices that protected the institutions and not the children?” asked Jeff Anderson, lawyer for the alleged victim in the civil suit against Sandusky.

“It’s not just about Penn State, it’s about all of us.”

Only a few weeks later, Syracuse University assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine was fired after allegations of child molestation surfaced involving claims by three men.

Fine called the allegations “patently false” and no charges have been filed but some critics have called for the firing of Jim Boeheim, Syracuse basketball coach for 36 years, who was Fine’s friend and assistant.

Investigation

“What happened on my watch? We will see,” Boeheim said. “There’s an investigation under way. There are no charges. We’ll see what happened on my watch.

Everything that I can control, I hold myself responsible for.” Child advocacy groups want more background checks on coaches and volunteers, more training on sex abuse awareness and prevention, at least two adults with children at all times and written policy on youth and coach interaction, steps similar to those taken after scandals in the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts of America.

“We want the public and especially parents to ask: Who are these people guiding our children and youth? Have they passed a background check?” said Justin Mayer, founder and president of the Center for Ethical Youth Coaching.

Debbie Yow, athletic director at North Carolina State University, told USA Today that all schools should conduct background checks on coaches and other staff hires, saying: “It’s a basic obligation. Unfortunately, it’s needed.”

Organizations

In an editorial, the Patriot Ledger newspaper of Quincy, Massachusetts, said the scandals “must lead all youth sports organizations to take a closer look at how better to protect young and vulnerable athletes who often revere the men to whom their growth and safety has been entrusted.”

But the newspaper also warned of judging all youth sport coaches harshly, saying: “The vast majority of coaches help athletes become better people. The vast majority of men in those roles live up to that image.”

The latest scandals hit US sport teams beloved by millions but are far from the first involving coaches.

US 1984 Olympic women’s gymnastics coach Don Peters was been banned for life by USA Gymnastics in November after two former gymnasts said he sexually abused them in the 1980s.

Former Canadian junior hockey coach Graham James was jailed for 3 1/2 years after being convicted of sexually assaulting two players about 350 times over 10 years.

Protection

USA Swimming banned at least 46 coaches and officials for life, mostly for sexual misconduct, and partnered with a child protection firm last April.

One coach, who was sentenced in 2008 to 33 years in federal prison, secretly videotaped teen girls undressing in locker rooms. Another was sentenced in 2009 to 40 years in prison for molesting young swimmers for more than 30 years.

An Indiana teen girl’s family sued USA Swimming in early November saying the governing body should have done more to protect the girl from sexual assault from a former coach who was jailed for felony sexual misconduct with a minor.

Protect Youth Sports, a group that helps screen staff and volunteers, said on its website that lessons must be learned.

“Every organization that works with children needs to look at what happened and do some self-evaluation of their current sexual abuse prevention strategy,” the group said, stressing a need to encourage abused youth to speak out.

Molesting

“Silence is terrible because it protects and enables the molester to keep on molesting and it deprives the victims of the help they need.” US lawmakers will examine federal child abuse laws in a December 13 Senate hearing. “No child should ever be subjected to sexual abuse,” Senator Barbara Mikulski said.

“And no adult should ever turn a blind eye to such abuse.”

WASHINGTON, Friday AFP