It will take a legal reckoning for athlete victims to get justice

As the euphoria of the Winter Olympics subsides, it's time to shine a spotlight on the explosive evidence against our country's most respected athletic organizations which have failed miserably to address a culture of sexual abuse and harassment involving young athletes. Over the past two weeks in Pyeongchang, the U.S. Olympic Committee endured intense criticism as organizers confronted the #MeToo Olympics.

Much of the anger was directed at USA Gymnastics, which faces a legal firestorm after team physician Larry Nassar pled guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct. He's accused of molesting more than 130 patients, under the guise of medical treatment, during his time as the team doctor. During Nassar's sentencing hearing, current and former members of USA Gymnastics blamed the organization for the way it mishandled complaints against Nassar.

Former USA Gymnastics Olympic gold medalist McKayla Maroney is suing the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, alleging the organizations engaged in a cover-up of Nassar's abuse. That claim stems from a confidential settlement agreement that Maroney signed which her lawsuit alleges violated the law, by paying for Maroney's silence in a child sex abuse case.

Maroney is just one of dozens of athletes suing USA Gymnastics for negligence in allowing a convicted pedophile unsupervised access to so many children. There are also several lawsuits pending against world-renowned coaches Bela and his wife Martha Karolyi, who ran an elite training center in Texas where gymnasts claim they were isolated, starved and held hostage to Nassar's sexual abuse.

Hundreds of allegations by young athletes of sexually abusive coaches are at the center of an investigation into the leadership of USA Swimming. A stunning exposé by The Southern California News group found that Top USA Swimming executives, board members, top officials and coaches admitted in court documents that they were aware of sexually predatory coaches for years, in some cases even decades, but did nothing to stop them. Over the past two decades, during the tenure of USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus (who died last year), at least 252 swim coaches and officials were arrested, charged by prosecutors or disciplined by USA Swimming for the sexual abuse of minors.

The report also exposed that USA Swimming has paid more than $77,000 to lobby against legislation in California that would allow victims to sue their abusers and hold the organizations accountable in civil lawsuits. However, in light of the USA Gymnastics abuse scandal, a new federal law just passed which requires Olympic organizations to report all allegations of abuse. A bipartisan group of senators also wants to create a special congressional committee to investigate how the US Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics allowed a predator like Nassar to engage in these horrific crimes.

While sexual harassment and abuse happens in all sports, it's especially widespread at the elite level because of the power structure established between coaches and the athletes who are convinced that only certain coaches can produce winners.

As more evidence comes to light, the public will soon learn how the people in power cared more about winning at all costs than protecting amateur athletes. Court documents reveal that executives ignored the warnings and were aware of sexual predators in coaching positions for decades, who felt emboldened to have sexual relationships with underage athletes. When the leaders in the organization turned a blind eye to abusive behavior, they helped foster a hostile training environment where coaches were given too much power with a merciless level of command.

With the vast commercialization of competitive sports, especially the Olympics, profit and prestige is more important than the athletes' wellbeing, who are basically seen as disposable commodities. If a player is injured, questions authority or reports misconduct by a coach, they risk being replaced by another athlete. The victims are intimidated and fear retaliation by these strict trainers and are taught to stay quiet. Research shows athletes who experience harassment or sexual abuse in sports suffer severe physical and psychological damage which can include anxiety, depression, substance abuse, self-harm and even suicide.

It will take a legal reckoning for these abused athletes to obtain justice and enact change, which includes ensuring safeguards to protect children, women and young athletes from sexual misconduct. Laws against sexual harassment and discrimination must be extended to sporting activities based on the unique power dynamics between coaches and athletes which can involve threats, intimidation and unwanted actions of a sexual nature.

It's the responsibility of sporting organizations to take steps to prevent and address this crisis which has plagued the athletic community for many years. That starts with fostering a climate of open discussion about the issue of sexual harassment and abuse, which empowers athletes with complaints to feel comfortable speaking out. The organization must develop and implement policies and procedures for preventing sexual harassment, develop a complaint procedure that protects the privacy of the victim and protects the legal rights of athletes who fear retaliation.

Various studies have found that anywhere between 2-20% of young athletes are the victim of sexual harassment or abuse. Considering there are millions of American kids participating in competitive sports each year, as many as 700,000 kids could experience sexual victimization. Organizations like USA Gymnastics and USA Swimming must do a better job of fixing this disturbing culture and accepted behavior within the sport community. By holding these organizations accountable, younger generations of athletes can focus on honing their talents instead of suffering in silence.