Volleyball Australia issued a public apology on Thursday for creating an “environment of fear” that saw some players self-harm and others turn to substance abuse, with the impacts still felt decades later.
The sport’s governing body acknowledged that former athletes with the Australian indoor women’s team, some as young as 14, were subjected to punitive training methods and body-shaming.
The incidents occurred while they were based at the Australian Institute of Sport in the lead-up to and after the 2000 Sydney Olympics, between 1997 and 2005.
“We are deeply sorry for the ongoing effects these experiences have had on your life, and on your relationship with the sport of volleyball and with Volleyball Australia,” the apology said, noting “an environment of fear”.
“We understand that your experiences amounted to coercive control, which included using training as a method of punishment, verbal and physical abuse, favouritism, ostracism, excessive punishments, and body-shaming.”
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The statement followed a review by government agency Sport Integrity Australia following complaints by athletes four years ago.
The review found a “culture of fear and punishment”, lack of coach accountability and limited athlete support at the time.
Volleyball Australia noted that players had struggled with the physical and mental effects of their experiences, including self-harm, eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and substance abuse.
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“Some are living with ongoing effects. The fact that such a culture and environment could be established and maintained was wrong and is not the fault of athletes who were adversely impacted,” it added.
A former player, who did not want to be named, told broadcaster ABC that “training became punishment”.
“We were belittled and called ‘weak’, ‘pathetic’, and ‘useless’ by coaches and accused of ‘making excuses’ when we were in fact injured,” she said.
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“It was an environment where no athlete could thrive, and some were broken and driven out of the programme.”
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