Predatory coach

Much like the MeToo movement that exposed many a serial sex offender following an outpouring of complaints by women calling out their ex-bosses, 59-year-old Tamil Nadu coach P Nagarajan is turning out to be the Harvey Weinstein of a sports academy. The case registered against the tainted coach in May-end by a 19-year-old sports aspirant, who has accused him of sexual misconduct from 2013 to 2020, has spurred seven more sportswomen who trained under him over his three-decade career to spill the beans about his predatory behaviour. The gory part is that some of them were minors at the time they were violated. The shocking litany of inappropriate touches and acts alleged against him mirrors a familiar pattern in the sports arena.

It once more casts a harsh spotlight on how certain factors enable this intensely competitive field to become a breeding ground of sexual assault. Unfortunately, most such cases of harassment go unreported due to fear and the shame attached. It emboldens the officials to misuse their power of making or breaking careers if anyone dares to resist their advances. The recent horror tales divulged by victims — both boys and girls — though few and far between, bare the systemic malaise. If April saw the Sports Authority of India suspend a 50-year-old coach who had been arrested for molesting a girl in Delhi, in June, a tennis trainer went behind bars for allegedly raping a 17-year-old player on the pretext of selecting her for a tournament in Jaipur. At the international level, FIBA (International Basketball Federation) has been embroiled in an inquiry into complaints of sexual abuse by around 100 women players implicating 12 coaches and officials. In mid-June, the FIBA head, though himself not an accused, had to step down from his position for ignoring the crime in Mali from 1999 to 2007.

Such zero tolerance for harassment and assault of victims is needed. In contrast, in the Nagarajan case, even when the academy was informed about his transgressions, it allegedly forced the complainant to quit the institution. The academy must be tried for ignoring the heinous assaults that have life-long repercussions for young athletes.