On 16 December 2022, a volley ball coach slapped two teenage female players at a tournament in Johor. This caused a furor among the ministers, parents and educators. “I did not intend to take action which caused injuries...my action is to fire their spirit and motivate them in each match," the coach said.
When I first heard the coach's reason for slapping the two players, I said to myself , "Ridiculous! What kind of reason is this?" Which athlete would be motivated or fired up by a slap from his or her coach? Which student would be motivated or fired up by a slap from his or her teacher or lecturer? Which employee would motivated by a slap from the boss? I wonder where this coach learnt such a form of motivation.
A slap by your superior in front of your peers is indeed very humiliating to the receiver. It shows a total disrespect and disregard for the person's worth as a human being. If the person who has been slapped is not emotionally or mentally strong, he or she can be traumatized and be scarred for life. If such an action is not seriously dealt with, we would be sending wrong signals to those who are so wrong in their behavior and perception.
We have also heard of swimmers and athletes reporting about their bad experiences, both locally and internationally. Former Malaysian swimmer spoke up about alleged sexual assault in her early teens by a coach who was 15 years her senior. Similarly, Australian Olympic swimmer Madeline Groves also accused two of the country's leading coaches of misconduct in 2021. This tells me that such a negative culture has been brewing within our sports arena for quite a while and not enough has been done to protect the vulnerable and weak.
So, even as the volleyball coach has publicly apologized, he still has to be dealt with severely without fear or favor. After all, as a coach, he would have known the Do's and Dont's in his profession.
Let us all then choose to make Malaysia a safe place for our children, our ladies and all who are vulnerable. No one has the right to abuse another person regardless of the form - physically, sexually, mentally or emotionally.
By Mei Wong
Mei Wong is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav.
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