- Apr 14, 2017
- 1,442
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For those of you who haven’t watched it, I highly recommend watching the documentary “Athlete A” on Netflix about the sex abuse coverup at USAG. It’s very well done and, while difficult to watch at times, very informative and compelling.
There were a few things I wasn’t aware of but majorly related to, specifically the emotional blackmail and brainwashing of athletes to make them compliant. Like being told by your coach that you’re lazy and unfocused when you’re giving your best, and believing it. And still being too scared to speak up even when you’re sure the coach is out of line because you don’t have faith that the people in charge will prioritise you, a child, over an adult coach who should know not to bully kids. And also fully expecting to be punished for your trouble by having opportunities taken away from you, and accepting this as normal. And only realising how messed up this was in your late twenties.
It’s a very insightful look at training young athletes and definitely offers a lot of parallels to the cheer world. Worth a watch.
There were a few things I wasn’t aware of but majorly related to, specifically the emotional blackmail and brainwashing of athletes to make them compliant. Like being told by your coach that you’re lazy and unfocused when you’re giving your best, and believing it. And still being too scared to speak up even when you’re sure the coach is out of line because you don’t have faith that the people in charge will prioritise you, a child, over an adult coach who should know not to bully kids. And also fully expecting to be punished for your trouble by having opportunities taken away from you, and accepting this as normal. And only realising how messed up this was in your late twenties.
It’s a very insightful look at training young athletes and definitely offers a lot of parallels to the cheer world. Worth a watch.