Child Abuse in the Canadian and American Olympic Movement: Reforming Institutional Oversight of Amateur Sports

Abstract

For many years, sexual abuse of young athletes quietly festered throughout amateur sport organizations in Canada and the United States. However, the veil has recently been lifted by the highly publicized testimonies of athletes sexually abused as minors by disgraced former USA Gymnastics (“USAG”) physician and Michigan State University professor Larry Nassar. The troubling details of these stories spurred investigations seeking to identify the causes behind the institutional failures to intervene in Nassar’s perpetration of abuse. The evidence gathered by these investigations alongside independent academic research reveal that unfettered predatory behaviour is a pervasive issue across the institutions responsible for overseeing the American Olympic movement and amateur sports. In addition, similar patterns of unchecked abuse have since been identified as plaguing Canadian Olympic and amateur sport organizations. This paper examines the institutional failures to address child sexual abuse occurring under the oversight of Olympic and amateur sport organizations in Canada and the United States. In both countries, efforts are currently underway to reform governance of these institutions to better protect minors participating in amateur sports. Accordingly, this paper also analyzes the policies implemented thus far and makes substantive recommendations on ideal federal level initiatives.