ABSTRACT
The author Mariah Burton-Nelson (2002) revealed that, as an adolescent athlete, she was the victim of sexual harassment and statutory rape perpetrated by her coach. This criminal behaviour by the coach lasted three years, and the behaviour only ceased when Burton-Nelson’s family moved across the country. Her description of her response to the harassment is revealing:
I felt deeply flattered, horribly ashamed, guilty, infatuated, scared, and, because he was married, brokenhearted. Bruce called the behavior ‘an affair’ and complimented me on being ‘mature enough to handle it.’ He explained that ‘other people wouldn’t understand especially your parents,’ and warned me that if I told anyone, he would go to prison . . . I did not tell because I didn’t want the affectionate and exciting contact to stop . . . In my case, I adored this man, and wanted him to love me. I also wanted desperately to believe that his sexual behavior proved that he did love me.
