Female athletes should be protected from abuse

THE EDITOR, Madam:

While the world impatiently awaits the results of the investigation by FIFA and the Spanish prosecution court into Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales’ kiss on the lips of Jennifer Hermosa, a female Spanish footballer, at the awards ceremony of the Women’s World Cup, there are wisdom lessons to be learnt by Jamaican sportswomen.

First, consider that, despite several gains by sportswomen, including financial, the world of sports is still diseased by misogynistic attitudes and behaviours that infect male and female coaches and sports administrators. Therefore, it was unsurprising that even female Spanish sports administrators stood and applauded Mr. Rubiales when he defiantly declared, “I will not resign”. The antennas of alertness and awareness of sportswomen need to be functional because historical, cultural, unhealthy machismo pretends to die but resurrects under new guises.

Second, be aware of the four primary psychological responses to trauma. Research demonstrates that, when the brain perceives a threat, we automatically react by the 4Fs (fight, flight, freeze and fawn), depending on individual differences and past experiences of trauma. The fight response protects us from threat through conflict; the flight response protects us from danger through escape; the freeze response protects us from threat through dissociation; and the fawn response protects us from danger through placation.

Based on the videos and information emerging after the incident, I suspect that Jennifer Hermosa unconsciously protected herself by freezing. Because of the celebratory atmosphere of the moment, she was caught off guard. Perhaps she felt her body become rigid and she experienced difficulty deciding on the spur of the moment.

This incident reinforces the recommendation by Jamaican sports commentators, such as Brigitte Foster-Hylton on TVJ during the IAAF Budapest Games, who argue for including sports psychologists on national teams. These experts not only prepare female athletes to perform on the track, field or court, but also help them to anticipate and deal with abuse and trauma. Sports psychologists can increase the awareness of the reality and probable consequences of a male-dominated and misogynistic world of sports, and equip them with emotional tools to confront and address it.

Let us learn from the past and current experiences of abuse in the Church, Simone Bile’s gymnastics situation, and now Jennifer Hermosa. Abuse and its attendant trauma are real in every sphere of life. In the male-dominated field of sports, female athletes need to be aware, empowered, and protected.

FR DONALD CHAMBERS

frdon63@hotmail.com