In wake of sex abuse scandals, USA Wrestling toughens policies — for media
With sexual abuse allegations and lawsuits forming a dark cloud over the Olympic sports community in the United States, USA Wrestling is enacting new protocols aimed at scrutinizing one particular group at its events — the media.
The national governing body for the sport in the U.S. will now require any journalist seeking to cover USA Wrestling events to submit to a background check and also undergo an online training program from the U.S. Center for Safe Sport. The move was denounced Tuesday by the Associated Press Sports Editors, an organization of U.S. newspapers and sports publications, which called for journalists to refrain from covering USA Wrestling events under the restrictions.
A USA Wrestling spokesperson said he believes the organization is the first national sports governing body to require athlete safety procedures as part of its media credentialing process.
“When you start looking at doing everything you can to create a safe environment for kids that are participating in your sport, you look to see who has access,” Rich Bender, USA Wrestling’s executive director, said in an interview. “Obviously, I think a lot of focus has been placed on coaches and adult supervisors who are around kids in our sport. Members of the media fit into that criteria.”
The new protocols are more stringent than what’s required by other sports entities in the U.S., including professional leagues and college conferences. Reporters covering this year’s Super Bowl, for example, had to submit to an FBI security check and provide their social security number, date of birth and race. But no league or team has mandated a training program.
Jeff Rosen, president of APSE, called USA Wrestling’s new requirements “problematic on multiple levels” and said the organization will advise journalists to refrain from covering any event in which the new credentialing restrictions are in place.
Bender says USA Wrestling officials have discussed whether some journalists might balk at the extra measures and whether media coverage of the sport might suffer as a result.
“Certainly most people would say, ‘Hey, you should be working toward making it easier for people to cover your sport,’” he said. “By no one’s imagination would you say wrestling’s not a bit of a niche sport. We don’t have enough media coverage. But at the end of the day, it’s more important in our minds to take steps to create a safe environment as opposed to making it easier for the media to cover your sport.”
Bender said no journalist has been accused of any impropriety at a wrestling event. The new protocols amount to a proactive measure and are similar to what’s required of coaches, referees, medical personnel, event volunteers and USA Wrestling employees, he said.
USA Wrestling has not been embroiled in sex abuse controversies like some other governing bodies, such as USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo. Bender said his organization made its decision without consulting the governing bodies from other Olympics sports.