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Should We be Concerned about Sports Teams and Coaches?

You would have to be living underground to not be aware of all the allegations about child abuse among major schools like Penn State and Syracuse University. Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State assistant football coach, has a 40 count indictment against him for abusing at least eight boys over a 15 year period. After all the allegations came out at Penn State, soon child abuse allegations began to fly around Syracuse University against assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine. Bernie Fine was immediately fired after the third man came forward accusing him of molesting him. There are some discrepancies as to whether or not all the accusations are true against Fine, but the school chose to fire him regardless. According to Psychology Today, abuse and sports programs go hand-in-hand. Most sports programs deal with two types of scandals. The first being under-the-table inducements and payments to the players, their families, and their advisors to encourage the players to join the universities sports programs. The second scandal is sexual misbehavior, crimes, and violence among players. These actions rarely impact the universities or teams so that universities can maintain their sports franchise. So while sports teams does not necessarily mean that your child will be abused or that it is accepted, it does mean that universities and high demand teams run the risk of hushing up any incidences because they do not want lose support and endorsements as seen with Penn State. Sports, especially college sports, are a dominant scene in America which can lead to major cover ups for heinous crimes.

However, before you pull your children out of their sports teams or cast judgment on a coach take a look at ways to identify child abuse in someone. The following indicators were taken directly from an article on the American Humane Association.

What Should You Look for If You Suspect Sexual Abuse?
Children who are sexually abused may exhibit behavioral changes, based on their age.
Children up to age 3 may exhibit:
• Fear or excessive crying
• Vomiting
• Feeding problems
• Bowel problems
• Sleep disturbances
• Failure to thrive
Children ages 2 to 9 may exhibit:
• Fear of particular people, places or activities
• Regression to earlier behaviors such as bed wetting or stranger anxiety
• Victimization of others
• Excessive masturbation
• Feelings of shame or guilt
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Withdrawal from family or friends
• Fear of attack recurring
• Eating disturbances
Symptoms of sexual abuse in older children and adolescents include:
• Depression
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Poor school performance
• Promiscuity
• Substance abuse
• Aggression
• Running away from home
• Fear of attack recurring
• Eating disturbances
• Early pregnancy or marriage
• Suicidal gestures
• Anger about being forced into situation beyond one’s control
• Pseudo-mature behaviors


If you have concerns about your child or someone else it is important to report it to authorities. However, only report when you have reasonable evidence against the accused adult meaning a statement from the child or the parent.

If you or someone you know needs help with family law, please contact Attorney Michael S. Weisberg. He has been practicing law for over thirty years in the Hampton Roads area, including Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News and surrounding areas. Please contact his office today or fill out a form on the website to set up a free initial consultation.




Michael S. Weisberg, P.C.
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Norfolk, VA 23510
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Fax: (757) 533-9223
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Email: info@weislaw.com
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