By Shelba Waldron - Director of Club Education and Outreach, USA Gymnastics
October is National Bullying Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness on bullying between athletes. Bullying is an intentional behavior that hurts, harms, or humiliates another person or a specific group of people either physically or emotionally, and can occur anywhere, including at the club, outside of the cub, or online. This year, we are focusing on cyberbullying and how a club can help decrease cyberbullying among athletes.
Teens are constantly tethered to technology, which means they are susceptible to victimization, and they can be drawn into a bullying situation by simply sharing a negative post or text message. Cyberbullying is especially dangerous because of the instantaneous and often anonymous nature of sharing information. It can take place anywhere, anytime, and the bully does not need to be face-to-face with their victim(s). Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior when it involves sexual exploitation, sharing photos that include nudity, stalking or threats of violence.
Although cyberbullying usually occurs outside of training time, clubs can take steps to minimize cyberbullying between athletes by establishing rules that discourage cyberbullying including:
Respect for teammates and coaches both in and out of the club
Respect for athletes and coaches from other clubs
Develop a club philosophy, "If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all."
Rules against taking or posting photos of athletes on social media without their permission
Rules against taking photos in bathrooms or locker rooms, even if just a selfie or mutually agreed upon shots
Protect personal information of other athletes at the gym
Set guidelines for interaction on chat apps and social media apps
Encourage reporting
When discussing and writing policy on cyberbullying, it's important that a special focus is given to TikTok and Snapchat being used for purposes of bullying. A club should not sanction exchanges between athletes through social media platforms, and rules should be set regarding group chats and comments if the platforms are being used. Additionally, clubs are encouraged to speak with athletes and their parents about the types of videos recorded for the purposes of TikTok and how the athletes and club is represented in such videos. For more information, please visit the links below.
