Episode 44: The Culture of Abuse in Swimming with Katherine Starr

2020-09-15

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***Content warning: In this episode, we discuss sexual assault and abuse endured by athletes and the impact that has on their lives.*** In the second episode of swimming week, Johanna sits down with 2-time British Olympic swimmer Katherine Starr to discuss her experiences of harm within the sport, the structural conditions that make sexual abuse so rampant in swimming, and the work she is doing with Safe4Athletes to help athletes who have endured abuse and trauma from coaches and teammates. In the first half of the episode, ...

***Content warning: In this episode, we discuss sexual assault and abuse endured by athletes and the impact that has on their lives.***

In the second episode of swimming week, Johanna sits down with 2-time British Olympic swimmer Katherine Starr to discuss her experiences of harm within the sport, the structural conditions that make sexual abuse so rampant in swimming, and the work she is doing with Safe4Athletes to help athletes who have endured abuse and trauma from coaches and teammates. In the first half of the episode, Johanna asks Katherine about the experiences of sexual abuse she endured during her career and how that led her to speak out publicly and create programs to help athletes of all sports who have withstood abuse and trauma. In the second half, Katherine talks about how abuse is perhaps endemic in modern sport and how organizations like Safe4Athletes can at once help athletes deal with trauma but also hold coaches, administrators, and even policy makers accountable for allowing abuse to permeate the sporting landscape.

Katherine Starr had a successful collegiate career at UT-Austin before winning two silver medals at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. In 2011, she founded the incredible organization Safe4Athletes as a result of her experiences of sexual abuse, in order to help other athletes who have endured similar abuse and trauma from coaches and/or their teammates. She has spoken publicly about her experiences and advocacy work on popular media outlets and is very actively involved in pressuring national governing bodies of sport and athletic departments to create safer environments for athletes.

Articles referenced in this episode include:

Scott Reid’s piece on Starr from 2012 (probably has the most clear details on what happened): https://www.ocregister.com/2012/03/18/athletes-who-survived-abuse-join-together-as-advocates/

Scott Reid’s episode on The End of Sport – “Hypocrisy is Their Middle Name”

“SoCal Olympic swimmer travels to London” (more background): https://www.scpr.org/news/2012/08/09/33749/socal-olympic-swimmer-travels-london-urge-athlete-/

“Breaking Down Sexual Abuse in Sports”: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/breaking-down-sexual-abus_b_2500956

2016 HuffPost piece, seems to be in response to Brock Turner: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/im-embarrassed-and-ashame_b_10559164

For a transcription of this episode, please click here. (Credit @punkademic)

After listening to the episode, check out our most recent pieces:

“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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@Derekcrim

@JohannaMellis