Parents the most likely source of abuse on Australia’s sporting fields, new study finds
Facing abuse, bullying, racism and even inappropriate sexual advances, the plight of Australia’s coaches has shocked even the researchers behind the first major national survey into positive sporting behaviours,More than one in six coaches have directly experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months, and two in five have witnessed it, according to the first annual results from the Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) Positive Behaviours in Sport Study, and parents were responsible almost half the time (47%),Of the survey of 325 mostly grassroots coaches, more than one in 10 experienced bullying, and almost as many reported separate instances of either racism, discrimination, physical abuse or inappropriate sexual behaviour,Alexis Cooper, acting head of sport engagement at SIA, said the results surprised her, particularly given the importance of coaches within the sport ecosystem and that they are largely volunteers,“When you look at that abuse of coaches, it has a range of flow-on consequences for everyone else,” she said.
“Children, for example, are more likely to drop out of sport because it’s not fun anymore, it leads to increased anxiety and stress for children, it can lead to poor sportsmanship on the field, it can lead to strained relationships between coaches and parents who are ultimately there for the kids.”The impact of poor parental behaviour was studied by the University of South Australia in a 2024 paper.It found that when parents were encouraging and enjoyed the game their child was more likely to project positive behaviour.However, if a parent criticised the referee or umpire, or yelled abuse, this was related to greater antisocial behaviours in the child.Despite the areas of improvement, the SIA report found broadly those involved in Australian sport enjoyed themselves, and around nine in 10 respondents – a group of 1,204 coaches and athletes combined – believed their sport was safe and fair for everyone.
When there were behavioural issues, however, the study identified that they were not always dealt with adequately,Athletes were more likely to not report poor behaviour, or report informally, than to make a formal complaint,Reasons for not making formal reports included athletes not thinking it would be taken seriously, not knowing how to report it, a fear of persecution after reporting and a belief that any issue was someone else’s problem,Sign up to Sport in FocusSign up to Sport in Focusafter newsletter promotionCooper said SIA, together with 32 integrity managers they have funded, are working on education to address these challenges,“Sport is a part of society, it’s not separate to society, and verbal abuse wouldn’t happen in other parts, but people sometimes accept that as being part of sport,” she said.
“So there’s a cultural shift in there that has to happen that says, you know, this isn’t OK in sport,”Cooper said the five-year study will help address these long-term cultural challenges, but there are also immediate solutions available,“It’s education for parents, for example making sure they focus on fun instead of winning, it’s clubs being able to share values and educational resources with parents, some sports have marshals on the ground, there are green wristbands for under-18 officials, there’s a lot to do,”
Can Nigel Farage emulate success enjoyed by Italy’s far-right Giorgia Meloni?
Reform’s leader may hope to tread a similar path to Italy’s prime minister, but she is an experienced parliamentarian open to collaboration and compromiseOne of the more striking images from June’s G7 summit showed a small group of world leaders engaged in an impromptu and informal evening chat at the venue’s restaurant. In the foreground of that photo was a familiar blond head: Giorgia Meloni.During her three years as the Italian prime minister, Meloni has moved beyond her hard-right populism, not to mention her fascism-adjacent origins, to earn at least the respect of other leaders – Keir Starmer among them – for her pragmatism and flexibility. Among those watching this transformation from the sidelines will be the man hoping to be Starmer’s replacement: Nigel Farage.If campaigning is, as the political truism goes, conducted in poetry while government is prose, this is doubly so for insurgents and outsiders, whose careers are built on promising rapid and straightforward solutions to seemingly intractable national troubles
Developers met ministers dozens of times over planning bill while ecologists were shut out
The scale of lobbying of ministers by developers on Labour’s landmark planning changes, which seek to rip up environmental rules to boost growth, can be exposed as campaigners make last-ditch attempts to secure protections for nature.The government published its planning and infrastructure bill in March. Before and after the bill’s publication the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and housing minister Matthew Pennycook have met dozens of developers in numerous meetings. The body representing professional ecologists, meanwhile, has not met one minister despite requests to do so.The government’s planning bill will reach its final stages before it is given royal assent in the coming days, after months of tussling between ministers, nature groups and ecologists
Boris Johnson trying to undermine BBC leadership, insiders fear after leak
Boris Johnson and figures linked to him are engaging in an effort to undermine the BBC’s leadership, insiders fear, after the leaking of a memo criticising its reporting of Donald Trump, trans rights and Gaza.Tim Davie, the BBC’s director general, and other senior editorial staff are under pressure after the criticisms made in the document by Michael Prescott, a former independent external adviser to its editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC).Parliament’s culture, media and sport committee has demanded to know the BBC’s response to the memo, setting Monday as a deadline. The BBC’s board is compiling its response.However, insiders believe the leaking of the memo to the Daily Telegraph and the criticisms that have followed from Johnson are part of a concerted attempt to undermine the organisation, which is heading into crucial talks with the government over the renewal of its charter
Kemi Badenoch to relaunch exclusive ‘advisory board’ for high-value donors
Kemi Badenoch is relaunching the Conservative party’s “advisory board” for high-value donors in a different guise, the Guardian has learned.The Tory leader has drawn up plans to reinstate the exclusive group, which provided top donors with regular direct access to senior ministers, according to two people briefed on the plans.In 2021, the Conservative party’s advisory board found itself at the centre of a “cash for access” storm after it emerged that its members had regular meetings and calls with Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, and Rishi Sunak, the then chancellor.One donor, Mohamed Amersi, told the media that some members of the board had given the party upwards of £250,000 a year. It was quietly wound up in subsequent years after the controversy
Nandy breached code over appointment of donor to lead football regulator
Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary, has apologised to Keir Starmer after an inquiry found she failed to say that her choice of nominee to lead a new football regulator had donated to her and to Labour before she nominated him for the role.Nandy said she regretted the errors highlighted in a report by William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments. Her apology comes a week after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, made her own written apology to the prime minister for failing to obtain a licence before renting out her family home.In a letter to Nandy, Starmer said he accepted the apology, but noted that the process to appoint the media executive David Kogan “was not entirely up to the standard expected” and said her department could learn lessons from it.The reprimand does not affect the role of Kogan, whose long career in sport and media has included negotiating TV rights deals for the Premier League and the English Football League
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