{"id":304,"date":"2018-04-01T14:01:52","date_gmt":"2018-04-01T14:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/04\/01\/201839the-culture-of-high-level-sport-can-lead-to-ignored-abusive-behavior\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:46:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:46:04","slug":"201839the-culture-of-high-level-sport-can-lead-to-ignored-abusive-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/04\/01\/201839the-culture-of-high-level-sport-can-lead-to-ignored-abusive-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"A culture of abuse: How to avoid it before it&#8217;s too late"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:1920.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.66667175292969%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Athlete-1.jpg\" alt=\"Athlete 1.jpg\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Athlete-1.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Athlete-1.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"1920x1280\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Athlete 1.jpg\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5acbc59f70a6adaedb6a9078\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><strong>By Grace Manthey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Note: this article was updated on April 9 to clarify Sara MacDonough&#8217;s comments. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">When Nicole Connery signed with Quinnipiac\u2019s women\u2019s ice hockey team for the 2012 season she didn\u2019t know the suffering she would endure for the next three years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Coaches from her hometown of Newmarket, Ontario, warned her when she told them where she was going. They told her they had heard things. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cBut I was like, a lot of coaches yell,\u201d Connery remembered. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Rick Seeley was Connery\u2019s coach at Quinnipiac until her junior year when the university fired him in April 2015 for verbal and physical abuse of his players. But according to student <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1cFd-HS-HiE5C1iKTWZ7LfEHCYrm-Jug6\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">surveys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> originally reported by <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/q30tv.com\/2017\/04\/10\/court-docs-ex-quinnipiac-womens-ice-hockey-coach-rick-seeley-abused-players-since-2009-2010\/\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Q30 Television<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">, students had been reporting incidents since 2009. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cIt could have been avoided earlier if our surveys were read and understood,&#8221; Connery said. &#8220;It\u2019s the only thing I don\u2019t understand of how those things were swept under the rug. I\u2019ll never understand that.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Every student athlete fills out a survey at the end of his or her season. After Connery\u2019s first year she said she wrote long and honest answers detailing the abuse. But after a while she figured no one seemed to be listening. <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:960.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.5625%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ZWALLPAPER3.jpg\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Nicole Connery\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ZWALLPAPER3.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/ZWALLPAPER3.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"960x639\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Photo courtesy of Nicole Connery\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5acbc60703ce649b2a74e840\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Photo courtesy of Nicole Connery<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In her first survey, Connery described an incident where Seeley had the team run from the Mount Carmel campus to York Hill at 5 a.m. Afterward they had practice without an athletic trainer and a player tore a ligament in her knee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">After her sophomore year, Connery said since she didn\u2019t feel like administrators were listening to the surveys. She just wrote that Seeley, \u201cprobably shouldn\u2019t aim a slapshot at a player that did something wrong in practice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">A more public incident at an NCAA tournament loss against Harvard sparked the end of the abuse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Seeley not only started swearing at his players, but also grabbed one by the facemask. Another coach had to pull Seeley off of the player.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cNot only did we all see the incident but my parents, other parents, parents on the other team, and players on the other team saw this incident and was horrified,\u201d said one player in her anonymous survey. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Former athletic director Jack McDonald, who was at Quinnipiac during the Seeley scandal, declined to comment on the incident. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The university hired Sarah Fraser in 2016, so she wasn&#8217;t around for Seeley&#8217;s firing. However,&nbsp;as the deputy director of athletics she is now one of the administrators who reads the athlete surveys. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Fraser is also the senior women administrator at Quinnipiac, a role designed to promote women within the school, according to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncaa.org\/about\/resources\/inclusion\/senior-woman-administrator\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">NCAA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">She said the student athlete surveys are anonymous because they allow student athletes to feel more comfortable being honest. While she said she feels strongly that they should stay that way, she also thinks the anonymity makes it hard for administrators to pinpoint problems. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThe challenge is not being able to follow up with somebody to get additional detail or verify how true something may be,\u201d said Fraser.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">This challenge may be part of why physical, verbal and emotional abuse is widespread in high-level sport \u2013 and why it\u2019s been traditionally ignored. Players say that the culture demands that athletes tough it out for fear of retaliation or being seen as weak. So they don\u2019t usually speak up. This leads to a communication barrier between athletes and coaches that can leave abusive behavior hiding in plain sight.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In fact, nearly half of all current or former athletes have experienced some negative interaction with a coach, whether they felt like the coach was picking on them, or crossed a line, according to an online survey of 62 current or former high school and college athletes in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:908.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:55.28634262084961%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Survey-Chart.png\" alt=\"Survey Chart.png\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Survey-Chart.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Survey-Chart.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"908x502\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Survey Chart.png\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5aa2931cc830253c38ed4ee6\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">It\u2019s a decades-long problem that has recently gotten the spotlight because players are starting to speak out.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Earlier this year, a Michigan court sentenced <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">former USA Gymnastics (USAG)&nbsp;team doctor<\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> Larry Nassar on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/01\/24\/us\/larry-nassar-sentencing\/index.html\">sexual assault charges<\/a>. The statements from the hundreds of girls and women Nassar abused exposed the true <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/deadspin.com\/the-u-s-gymnastics-system-wanted-more-medals-and-crea-1794525855\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">abusive culture<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> of USAG\u2019s desire to win more medals. Meanwhile,&nbsp;a book published back in 1995 explained the abusive culture of elite gymnastics, yet the governing body did nothing until gymnasts started speaking up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But most athletes do not speak up, according to the online survey. One anonymous respondent said, \u201cwe are taught to put our heads down and deal with it.\u201d Many ignored negative interactions with their coaches. But that has consequences. &nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1BUCVw9JiTl_SOqoV16Mba3zGl8UKL8o1\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> from 2008 found that emotional abuse, rather than verbal or physical, had the most negative effect on the well being of 14 elite, retired swimmers. The study defined emotional abuse as \u201csustained and repeated patterns of contact-free harmful interactions between an athlete and caregiver (coach) that resulted in emotional upset of the athlete.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Quinnipiac fired Seeley for verbal and physical abuse, but the surveys also show signs of emotional abuse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cHe even told a member of the team that she was in fact nothing to this team and that she was worthless,&#8221; said one student athlete in a 2013 survey.&nbsp;&#8220;He told a girl \u2026 when she was ready to quit that if she goes home all she will be is a waitress and that she will have no life.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The study also found emotional abuse was the least studied form of abuse, especially in athletics. But it\u2019s one of the most common. &nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In another 2004 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1WRbiZoFAbSfcnd-pZQMedH42z9yx9O-o\/view?usp=sharing\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">, all interviewed athletes said their coach had abused them in some way. This resulted in them feeling worthless, lacking self confidence, depressed, humiliated or fearful. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The study went on to point out that these feelings lead to a \u201clack of belief in their own ability to perform,\u201d which ultimately ends up making them play worse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Also, the \u201conly the strong survive\/no pain, no gain\u201d attitude is a myth according to Celia Brackenridge, the director of the Centre for Youth Sport and Athlete Welfare at Brunel University in West London. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThis attitude reflects institutional intolerance for maltreating athletes and overlooks the longer term harm that can result for \u2018tough\u2019 training and coaching regimes,\u201d said Brackenridge in a 2010 keynote <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/stillmed.olympic.org\/media\/Document%20Library\/OlympicOrg\/IOC\/Who-We-Are\/Commissions\/Medical-and-Scientific-Commission\/Sexual-Harassment-and-Abuse-in-Sport\/EN-Myths-about-abuse-in-sport.pdf\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">address<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> at the \u201cHow Safe is Your Sport\u201d conference. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Sara MacDonough, Quinnipiac University athletic trainer and mental health liaison said she couldn&#8217;t comment on the women&#8217;s ice hockey incident. But in general she thinks communication could be a way to foster a good relationship between athletes and coaches. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cIf you can talk it out and understand where people are coming from and understand why they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re doing, then no one abuses their power and we can keep that check and balance in place,&#8221; she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">According to former student athlete Connery, communication wasn&#8217;t always a solution for her.&nbsp;<\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">While her friends would go to other staff members to &#8220;let it out and cry,&#8221; Connery said she had no one she felt like she could trust. She said Seeley gave the impression that if anyone talked it would get back to him and they would be punished.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cFor me it was hard because I never let myself flush out those feelings, what I had was just bottled up,\u201d Connery said. <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&#8220;It\u2019s not good for your health and you end up numb. Communication was just non-existent for me.\u201d &nbsp;<\/span><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Kelly Frassinelli,&nbsp;the field hockey coach and senior woman administrator at Southern Connecticut State University, said every school handles the role a little differently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">At Southern, Frassinelli\u2019s role as SWA can include sitting down with athletes and talking with them about athletic, academic or social problems. As the field hockey coach she has regular meetings with her players to check in. However, in addition to communication on the athlete\u2019s end, coaches must have a strong moral compass, <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Frassinelli said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI guess for me with all the stuff that\u2019s going on in the world I just, I\u2019ve never tolerated that. I\u2019ve never felt that you know that in a role of power \u2026 you should ever take advantage of that role,\u201d Frassinelli said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">She continued and said it might be easy to get lost in a moment, but that coaches have to remember there is life after sport. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cYou have to stick by knowing that these are individuals you\u2019re trying to make better people so that when they leave here, they might not be an Olympic athlete, but they\u2019re going to be a good person,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Frassinelli recognizes that conversations between athletes and coaches will not always be pleasant, like after a game when a player has made a mistake.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThat\u2019s where we encourage them to come talk to us,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And I know it\u2019s hard for them sometimes but we\u2019re going to give the honest answer whether you like the answer or not. But we\u2019re going to try to communicate it.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The line between being a tough coach and an abusive one is<\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">&nbsp;sometimes blurry, according to <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Frassinelli. Avoiding it totally may be impossible, but the important part is the way potentially abusive behavior is managed, she said. Coaches, athletes and administrations must build enough trust to do that. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI think about how often is there oversight, how often are athletic directors or even associate ADs watching the interactions that are happening with their coaching staff and their student athletes just to check, just to make sure,\u201d Frassinelli <\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Fraser, Quinnipiac\u2019s SWA, said she believes administrator involvement is vital to understanding the cultures of the programs they oversee. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI think the role is knowing enough about the programs you\u2019re reading about going into the survey, so that most of what is said isn\u2019t a surprise,&#8221; she said. &#8220;So if you\u2019re doing your job [as an administrator] there shouldn\u2019t be too many things there that you had no idea about because you\u2019re close enough to the coaches, you\u2019re close enough to the student athletes, you\u2019re close enough to the program from just being around.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However, Quinnipiac counselor Mary Pellitteri believes trust may be the wrong word to use when trying to avoid abusive behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cTake trust and throw it right out the window,&#8221;<\/span><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Pellitteri said. &#8220;That\u2019s a word that is way overused in my opinion because it\u2019s something that has to be earned.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Pellitteri said athletes need to not only get to know their coaches, but also get over the possible embarrassment of speaking up if they feel wronged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cWe feel like, \u2018oh don\u2019t be such a fuddy duddy\u2019 or whatever, and that\u2019s when it gets more and more uncomfortable,&#8221; she said. &#8220;So I think it\u2019s more about trusting yourself to be able to stand up for things.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However, as an athlete who has witnessed this behavior, Connery believes athletes sticking up for themselves can be a double-edged sword.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThey\u2019re a wuss if they [admit it bothers them] and then people pull the whole \u2018if you\u2019re at a high level, if you\u2019re a D1 athlete you need to be able to handle this,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">NCAA surveys mirror Connery\u2019s thoughts. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In the most recent Growth, Opportunities, Aspirations and Learning of Students in college or GOALS survey, about half of female respondents said they were \u201cvery comfortable\u201d going to their captains with team problems. The percentage increased from freshmen to seniors. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">However, when asked how comfortable they were talking to coaches about team problems, a higher percentage of student athletes selected \u201csomewhat comfortable\u201d or \u201csomewhat uncomfortable.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">When asked how comfortable they would be talking with administrators about problems on a team, over half were \u201csomewhat uncomfortable\u201d or \u201cvery uncomfortable\u201d across all years. &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:655.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:150.22901916503906%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GOALSSurveyChart.png\" alt=\"GOALSSurveyChart.png\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GOALSSurveyChart.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/GOALSSurveyChart.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"655x984\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"GOALSSurveyChart.png\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5aa293499140b7e46e1fe353\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">It was Connery\u2019s captain, Morgan Fritz-Ward who faced discomfort and requested a meeting with administration. She and her team decided they were not going to let any more athletes suffer from their coach\u2019s behaviors. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And once Seeley was gone, Connery, in her senior season found her love for hockey again.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThe coaches let me be a little more like, free, the way that I am,&#8221; said Connery. &#8220;And all the love poured in again.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">While the new head ice hockey coach and assistant under Seeley, Cassandra Turner, was not someone the players felt like they could go to in their time of suffering, Connery found a way to enjoy her senior season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cIn order for you to do better you have to forgive,&#8221; Connery said. &#8220;She\u2019s very good at communicating with people \u2026 She\u2019s very good at understanding people\u2019s minds. I trusted that she could do well, could teach us well, could be a good coach and everything.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">MacDonough, the Quinnipiac trainer and mental health liaison, said that it\u2019s important for coaches to have a healthy line of communication between them and their athletes and to not let too many personal feelings get in the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cWe have a duty to check those behaviors, check our emotions at the door. If our student athlete isn\u2019t performing well I do think that we have to hold them accountable and say \u2018hey you\u2019re slipping, what\u2019s going on,&#8217;\u201d she said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">So while student athletes can sometimes feel like no one is listening, experts say there is a way of managing problems between athletes and coaches. Abuse in women\u2019s sports can be avoided with communication, accountability, respect and self esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">From Connery\u2019s point of view, \u201cyou\u2019ve gotta really value yourself \u2026 and know what you deserve and the kind of way you should be treated \u2026 put that value up higher.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Reporter&#8217;s note: In the interest of full disclosure, Grace Manthey is a student athlete at Quinnipiac on the Acrobatics and Tumbling team. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">While student athletes can sometimes feel like no one is listening, experts say there is a way of managing problems between athletes and coaches. Abuse in women\u2019s sports can be avoided with communication, accountability, respect and self esteem.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":305,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,5,142,6],"tags":[184,4,183,158],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capstone-projects","category-hamden","category-homepage","category-quinnipiac","tag-abuse","tag-quinnipiac","tag-sports","tag-womens-ice-hockey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2873,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions\/2873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}