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Safeguarding failures in elite sport are rarely accidental — they are produced by systems built on power, reward, and dependency.
In this episode, we examine the specific safeguarding risks faced by elite athletes, exploring how pursuit of excellence, early specialisation, and hierarchical coach–athlete relationships can create conditions in which abuse is enabled and normalised. The discussion considers how vulnerability begins long before elite success, often from childhood, as athletes enter reward-based systems that demand compliance in exchange for opportunity.
A central focus is the normalisation of harm within elite environments. The episode explores how emotional, psychological, sexual, and digital violence can become embedded in sporting cultures, leading athletes to tolerate abuse as part of performance. Parallels are drawn with coercive control and domestic violence, highlighting how fear of exclusion and loss of identity can trap athletes within harmful systems.
The conversation also examines how digital platforms facilitate grooming and abuse beyond institutional oversight, and why current safeguarding education frequently fails to reflect the lived realities of elite athletes. Instead, it argues for safeguarding approaches that prioritise agency, credible reporting pathways, and human-centred roles embedded within sport systems.
This episode features Katherine Starr, two-time Olympian and legal theorist, whose work bridges lived experience and legal analysis to expose systemic abuse and redefine athlete protection.
This episode was recorded in August 2025.
Further readings recommended by the guest in this episode:
• "Rescue Me". Katherine Starr (2022)
• "Spoilsports: Understanding and Preventing Sexual Exploitation in Sport" by Celia H. Brackenridge. Routledge (2001).
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Trigger warning - This podcast includes references to interpersonal violence, including personal accounts of abuse, harassment, and harm experienced by children and adults. Some listeners may find this distressing. Please take care while listening, pause or step away if needed, and consider accessing appropriate support if these topics affect you.
Credits
- Ideation and hosting: SCORE Sport Think Tank
- Sound, music, and post-production: Ryan Lobigs
- Visual identity: Natalia Plaza Sánchez
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