A new report by Kyniska Advocacy, Leeds Beckett University, and Loughborough University, examines the long-term harm caused by coach maltreatment in UK high performance sport.
The report is entitled “I Don’t Know How I Will Ever Trust Anybody Again”. It reveals patterns of emotional abuse, manipulation, coerced training through injury, and even sexual abuse. A number of interviews with former elite athletes suggested that these behaviours were part of a wider culture where power imbalances, gendered expectations, and weak safeguarding structures allowed harm to persist.
As a result of the abuse, the women described long-term mental health difficulties, eating disorders, fractured relationships, and a loss of trust in authority. Many only recognised their experiences as abuse years after leaving sport.
The report calls for a number of changes:
- Gender‑informed safeguarding
- Stronger accountability
- Trauma‑informed support for former athletes
- Making prevention a core safeguarding priority
- A duty of care that continues beyond retirement
Transforming Cultures
At the Ann Craft Trust, we welcome this research as a vital contribution to the safe sport landscape. Safeguarding is about more than just responding to incidents. We also need to think about how we can challenge power imbalances, and transform cultures so that athletes’ wellbeing is never secondary to performance.
This report amplifies the voices of women who have carried the impact of maltreatment long after their sporting careers ended. They have shown great courage in sharing their experiences, and we hope the report will provide a roadmap for meaningful change.
You can read the full report here.