Maltreatment in Sports: A Closer Look at the Emotional Abuse in the Coach-athlete Relationship

What is maltreatment?

Maltreatment is a deliberate action that can cause potential physical, social and/or psychological harm to a person. ¹ Maltreatment in sports can be split into two groups: relational and non-relational (Figure 1). ² The former occurs within a critical relationship, where power differential exists. For example, in a coach-athlete relationship, the coach has significant influence on the athlete’s trust, safety and needs especially for athletes performing at the higher sporting level – they invest more time with their coaches than their family. ³

Emotional abuse is one of the causes of maltreatment

The coach-athlete relationship is a ubiquitous site for maltreatment to transpire. ⁴ While there are numerous types of maltreatment (Figure 1), the focus of this article will be on emotional abuse. It is a volitional non-contact behaviour by the perpetrator that can potentially harm an individual’s emotional wellbeing. These behaviours include physical, verbal and rejection of support and attention. A study on elite athletes found that the consistent emotionally-abusive occurrences adversely affected their overall wellbeing, desire to continue in the sport and sporting performances (Table 1). ⁵

The causes of maltreatment can pose larger detrimental effects on athletes who are already facing psychological sporting performance concerns such as high anxiety and low self-efficacy. ⁶ ‘Mental resilience’ is a common theme that is conveyed to elite athletes by their coaches and other stakeholders. ⁵ Thus, the athletes might underestimate the gravity of the situation and decide to struggle through the lows as they are less open to seek support. When the psychological toll proved to be unbearable, retirement became inevitable.

Coaches who are perpetrators might have good intentions (Figure 2) – albeit fallacious. They believe that such behaviours would increase their athletes’ mental resilience to thrive. However, there are other autonomy-supportive and mastery-oriented coaching approaches that could elicit mental resilience and even foster a more holistic athlete development. ⁷

Developing safe environment starts with the coach

Athletes can holistically thrive when their basic (e.g. security and safety) and psychological needs (e.g. feeling competent) are met. Implementing safeguarding policies reinforces these needs and condemns any types of maltreatment. The International Safeguards for Children in Sport proposed eight safeguards for sporting organisations (Figure 3). ⁸

Coaches should form part of their club safeguarding committee and provide input from the policy development stage. Policy involving preventive measures can be enacted. For example, a coach can provide individual performance analysis feedback to an athlete at the club’s common area in the public presence of other employees. The athlete will feel comfortable and safe, which can motivate the athlete to provide a more extensive performance reflection during the meeting.

Coaches and athletes can join the club’s safeguarding training (e.g. webinars, online tutorials, physical workshop) to enrich their understanding on safeguarding and maltreatment. When coaches and athletes participate in the activities together, an increase in empathic accuracy can be achieved as they discuss and learn from each other’s perspectives, reinforcing a positive coach-athlete relationship. ⁹ Subsequently, coaches can foster a strong team spirit among their athletes and facilitate buddy or small group system to enhance the social and emotional support among teammates, especially during trying times that extends beyond professional capacity. Also, during intense training sessions, teammates can spur each other, increasing their identified motivation to do well as a team while having an emotional safety net.

Coaches should work closely with support staff (e.g. sports scientists, sport psychologist, ground staff, assistant coaches) to collectively promote safeguarding. Staff must be proactive and alert the safeguarding officer when they find something ethically amiss. Creating a supportive safeguarding culture facilitates a sense of belonging and safety throughout the organisation. While coaches undoubtedly play a leading role in safeguarding, there are many instances where coaches were the one maltreating their athletes. ¹⁰ Thus, the strong and supportive safeguarding culture that is in place would also act as a safeguard for or against the coaches.

With these pillars (Table 2) in mind, coaches play the exemplary role in leading safeguarding initiatives, working together with the club’s departments and governing bodies. The performance and wellbeing of coaches and athletes can thus elevate when the club has a strong culture of safeguarding and solidarity.

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