London Ont. sports scholar calls for end to abuse in 'toxic culture' of gymnastics

A Western University sports scholar says an athlete-focused approach is key to ending a toxic culture in gymnastics. 

On Monday, more than 70 gymnasts contributed their stories to an open letter addressed to Sport Canada. In the letter, they ask for an independent investigation into abusive practices within Canadian gymnastics that include mistreatment and discrimination.

"It's about gymnastics and the fact that there is this sort of toxic culture to the sport that creates these power imbalance balances between very young athletes, often young girls and adult coaches," said Laura Misener, director of the School of Kinesiology at Western University and a former national level gymnastics judge.

"And those often are adult men who have a lot of power and a lot of control over what they do, their performance, what they eat, what they say and when they do things. And it creates a really challenging and toxic situation for many of these athletes who are now finally feeling empowered to speak out."

During her 14 years as a judge, Misener would often see situations where she wished she could have done more to help athletes who were clearly intimidated by their coaches. But her letters to governing bodies fell on deaf ears, and eventually she walked away from the role.  

Misener said parents, coaches and judges have all been complicit in what takes place within the culture of competition. 

"There's the thought that you have to really push an athlete to the brink in order to make sure that they're successful," she said. 

Misener said an athlete-centred approach would empower gymnasts to make reports of abuse while becoming more involved in decisions of policies and governance, without leaving it up to administrators.

While she believes that the world of Canadian gymnastics is finally ready to address the issue, this is only the beginning of a long journey toward making it safer for those within it. 

"We might be able to change structures, but the culture of winning and excellence that really pushes athletes to that brink and leaves their health and safety to the side is something that's going to take a very long time to change within the system," said Misener. 

"And that's something I think we need to do a lot of work on."