**Content warning: this episode discusses physical, sexual, and emotional abuse within Canadian soccer.**
In this episode of The End of Sport, Johanna and Derek are joined for a second time by Ciara McCormack, a former professional soccer player with the Vancouver Whitecaps and whistleblower on abuses within the Canadian soccer system, about the physical emotional abuse that former coach Bob Birarda inflicted upon players.
In the second of a two-part show, Ciara walks us through what it was like to return to the Whitecaps years after experiencing abuse from Bob Birarda and team and, fascinatingly, talks about what ultimately led up to the release of “A Horrific Canadian Soccer Story” and how it was received by the team, fans, and media (who, unsurprisingly, were not very supportive). In the balk half of the episode, Ciara talks about what is next now that Bob Birarda has been arrested and charged. We finish with a discussion about the wonderful work Ciara is doing to change the sport for younger generations.
Ciara McCormack is a former college and professional soccer player who played soccer at Yale University and the University Connecticut, and later professionally for a wide variety of top teams for 7 years ranging from the Boston Renegades and Vancouver Whitecaps Women to teams in Denmark, Norway, and Australia. She also played for the Republic of Ireland from 2008-2014. She was the 1st Canadian player to make it to the Champions League Final. To top off her achievements, she also has a whopping total of 3 Master’s degrees on subjects related to women’s soccer.
Importantly, Ciara has spoken out publicly about the verbal, emotional, and sexual abuse that she experienced on the Whitecaps and in Canadian soccer. Finally, Ciara is the founder of Girls Can Soccer and TOPP Soccer, both of which we will certainly get to in the interview.
You can find Ciara on Twitter!
For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Updated semi-regularly Credit @punkademic)
After listening to the episode, check out our most recent pieces:
“College Football Feels All Too Normal During the Pandemic” in TIME Magazine
“College Football in a Pandemic Reveals our Capacity for Trumpism” in The Baffler
“Red-Scare Rhetoric Isn’t Gone From Histories of American Sport” in Jacobin Magazine
"Canceling the College-Football Season Isn't Enough" published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“'We are being gaslit': College football and Covid-19 are imperiling athletes” in The Guardian
“Canceling the college football season is about union busting, not health” also in The Guardian
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As always, please like, share, and rate us on your favorite podcast app, and give follow us on Twitter or Instagram.
@Derekcrim
@JohannaMellis
@Nkalamb
@EndofSportPod
www.TheEndofSport.com
Episode 80: Inside/Out of the Sports Media Complex with Joel D. Anderson
Episode 79: Status Coercion in College Sport with Erin Hatton
Episode 78: “Understanding Gymnastics on its Own Terms” with Dvora Meyers, Part II
Episode 77: “Understanding Gymnastics on its Own Terms” with Dvora Meyers, Part I
Episode 76: Abolishing the Olympics with Jonny Coleman of NOlympics LA
Episode 75: Unfiltered with Kaiya McCullough
Episode 74: Buying Unicorns with Dogecoin at the Tokyo Olympics with Jules Boykoff
Episode 73: On the Rich Aquatic History of the Black Diaspora with Naji Ali
Episode 72: College Sport 'Apocalypse'
Episode 71: On Trans and Non-Binary Sporting Inclusion with Verity Smith and Abby Barras
Episode 70: Gender Expansive Gymnastics with Half In, Half Out
Episode 69: One Year
Episode 68: How Texas Changed the Culture of Athletics with Frank Guridy
Episode 67: Black Feminism and Contemporary Sports Culture with Dr. Letisha Brown
Episode 66: The Plantation Dynamics of College Sport
Episode 65: College Football and the Re-making of Oklahoma with Andrew McGregor
Episode 64:The College Sports Media Problem
Episode 63: On the NWHL, *That* Media Company, and the “Girlboss” Ethos with Natalie Weiner and Hemal Jhaveri
Episode 62: Covid-19 and College Basketball with Jordan Bohannon
Episode 61: Klete Keller, Sport Media, and The Whiteness Problem in Swimming with Christienna Fryar and Matt Hodler
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