What is “Success” in Competitive Sports?

Examining Values, Power Structures, and Culture Change

Photographer: Agência Brasil Fotografias; Photograph licensed under Creative Commons

• What: A small-group conversation facilitated by Monica Vilhauer, Ph.D., an ethics specialist and former gymnast
• Where: Online via Zoom (or in-person depending on distance)
• When: Contact me to schedule a time for your group
• Duration: Two, two-hour sessions
• Group size: 10-15 is a good size for maximum participation

Description:

In 2016, news broke of one of the biggest abuse scandals in sports history. Over 150 cases of sexual abuse came to light in USA Gymnastics. Since then, the number of reported cases has grown to over 500 and counting.

The response to the USA Gymnastics scandal, which corroborated the existence of abusive cultures across a wide range of sports, has made it clear that abuse in sports is complex and systemic: It is not just sexual in nature, but emotional and physical as well. It is not just reserved for elite athletes, but regularly begins at intermediate levels. And, in case you were wondering, abuse is not just for girls.

In news stories, interviews, and court cases detailing the training cultures of a wide variety of sports around the world, we hear a common narrative. Coaches, parents, and athletes all speak of win-at-all-costs notions of “success” in sports to explain how training environments of intimidation and fear, neglected injuries, disordered eating, silence, and the general acceptance of dehumanizing behaviors could have gone on for so long. The stories point to long-standing traditions that normalize abuse under the assumption that it is necessary for high achievement.

In competitive sports we’ve been dealing with a crisis in ethics.

It’s time that we think critically about what our values and goals really are (and should be!) in competitive sports, and what “success” really means.

It’s time we learn to listen to each other about the short and long-term effects of different value systems and training environments in sports.

And it’s time we think creatively about how we can empower athletes and help them to flourish as “whole people.”

Let’s consider:

Session one:

• In what circumstances are sports joyful, enriching, and healthy? And in what circumstances do they become toxic?
• What are some long lasting benefits of positive experiences in sports? And what’s the long-term fallout of toxic training environments?
• Which values seem to take top priority in healthy versus toxic training environments?
• What does the coach-athlete relationship look like in these different training environments?
• Who has power and who is vulnerable, and in what ways?

Session two:

• How might we distinguish between tough training environments and abusive ones?
• Is there a line that should be drawn regarding what is and isn’t appropriate for an athlete to sacrifice for athletic achievement?
• What might it mean to nurture and support athletes as “whole people” in the gym? How might we do it?
• How might we empower athletes to have a voice in their own training?
• What commitments are crucial for the team as a whole (athletes and coaches) to create a positive and enriching experience for everyone?

Digging into this topic is not easy work…

But ethical commitments are not things we can wait for someone else to require of us in an abstract bullet-point “code.” (That’s true in sports and life!)

It’s our responsibility to critically examine the beliefs, values, and power structures of the sports-cultures we inherited. It’s our responsibility to understand what their effects have been by taking athletes’ stories seriously. And it’s our responsibility to care enough to make change where necessary.

This is deeply personal work that requires some soul searching. It is also grass-roots community work that requires listening to each other.

In sports, we can sometimes forget the side of ourselves that questions, listens, discusses, and deliberates. That side needs a workout too if we’re going to create intention, integrity, and self-governance in the gym.

Let’s get stronger together.

Who is this conversation for?
This conversation is appropriate for athletes (active and retired), parents of athletes, coaches, athletic directors or owners of gyms, therapists and counselors, and athlete-advocates. The likelihood that an athlete will experience systems of abuse at some point in their career is very high, so if you are an athlete or work with athletes in any way this conversation is relevant for you. The content is appropriate for ages 15 and above.

The conversation is especially worthwhile for college teams. It gives the team an opportunity to listen to each other’s unique experiences with empathy and seriousness, build trust, care, and communication. It is also a chance for the team to think critically and creatively together about ethics and develop their own commitments to each other. It is an experience that fosters depth, bonding, respect, empowerment, and self-governance.

What to Expect:
In this small-group conversation, we will create a welcoming and safe environment to think and brainstorm together. Participants will be able to speak from personal experience to the extent that they feel comfortable. My role in this setting is as a facilitator (not a lecturer). I’m here to help the group share experiences, generate ideas, and work together. I’m also here to hold the complexity of the topic open, so that different voices can be heard, and so that we can dig in to the depth of the issue together with respect, compassion, and curiosity. Though we don’t expect to have all the answers, we will ask good questions that move our critical and creative thinking forward, allow us to learn from each other, and help us connect as a community.*

About Your Conversation Leader:

Monica Vilhauer, Ph.D.

Hi, I’m Monica. I’m a specialist in ethics and a philosophical counselor. I’m also a former club and NCAA Division I gymnast. My experience of the good, the bad, and the ugly of competitive sports sparked in me a long-standing passion for the question of what “success” really means in sports… and in life. After my athletic career, I studied the intertwining issues of values, power, justice, and gender, and I taught ethics to college students for over a decade as a philosophy professor.

I’m committed to the practical value of philosophy for everyday life, and I’m eager to move philosophy beyond academic settings and into the local community to deal with urgent problems. I do this by offering facilitated conversations (like this one), individual counseling, workshops, and retreats through Curious Soul Philosophy.

When you’re ready to dive in to some big questions surrounding ethics in sports and athlete empowerment, reach out to schedule sessions for your group and to talk with me about any special needs or goals you have.

Price: $800 for two, two-hour sessions (plus travel expenses, if relevant). A group of 10-15 is ideal for maximum participation. The two sessions can be done in one day as a retreat, or on separate days depending on the schedule that works best for you. It is possible to do the sessions in person or online (via Zoom).

*This conversation is an adaptation of a “Conversation Project” designed and facilitated by Monica Vilhauer for Oregon Humanities in 2017-2018, which was sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Conversation projects emphasize open dialogue and listening to each other with respect and care about urgent problems facing communities.