Invest in Athletes Not Federations
It is time to dismantle the systems that uphold abusers.
What do we do when we realize that the systems of governance don't work equally for everyone? Is there value in investing energy in a system if it doesn’t equally promote values of fairness and justice? The argument often becomes, “But where else can we turn to?”
When these systems we have relied upon for generations are incompatible with the values we hold close, it isn’t about, "Where do we turn to?" It's about "What can we build?"
All these systems were human-built. They are not forced upon us; we give them power, not the other way around. We have to imagine something better than colonial constructs that protect abusers, power, and wealth. These systems are the problem. They exist to support themselves. If a system is so easily corrupted, the system needs to change. We must invest our time, money, energy, and other resources more wisely elsewhere.
I have seen this inequality throughout my nearly two decades of work in human rights. The corruption and the hypocrisy are on full display working in human rights, particularly in countries like Afghanistan where western money is laundered through the endless war machine. I started my career at age twenty working in sports, and found myself there again in Afghanistan working with Afghan cyclists. There are few places as openly corrupt or as abusive as sports. Athletes wage a fight against corruption and abuse within their own federations. Coaches, staff, federation leadership. When athletes look for support, time and time again, they are told, “There are reporting systems in place.”
This is a lie.
Or at least not an accurate representation of the truth. Because the reporting systems that currently exist in federations and international governing bodies that oversee them do not work on behalf of most athletes.
When the organizations athletes are required to report to are themselves corrupt and abusive, how do you expect them to be responsible for conducting responsible investigations? It’s asking criminals to investigate criminal networks on behalf of the victims. Time and time again, we see this play out in football, swimming, gymnastics, hockey, and, as I witnessed myself firsthand, cycling. We see it throughout women's sports, but it is also prevalent throughout men's sports.
Cycling and its international governing body, the UCI, is an excellent example of how reporting abuse through the official system of reporting fails athletes—every time. Sports governing organizations such as UCI, FIFA, FIBA, the International Olympic Committee, and thousands of individual sports federations discuss players' rights and athlete protection, but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of protecting athletes from abuse, all of them fail. They are too aligned with sponsors, building influence, staying in power, and making money. Athletes are the currency upon which they build their brand and their jobs. Their suffering matters little.
Organizations that have formed in response, such as the Centre for Sports and Human Rights in Switzerland, form working groups to put out policy papers and training workshops, but still, they do not provide athletes with tangible support when needed. They, too, are chasing funding, amassing access and influence, and building networks. There is a gaping hole in the world of sport for abused athletes. The few who get support only get it when the abuse is outrageous enough to warrant media attention, and they are often forced to retell their horrors repeatedly for public consumption. That is not support. That is just another form of exploitation for entertainment.
I used to believe that storytelling was key to change. I wrote books, made films, and interviewed with magazines, newspapers, and podcasts. I have given TED talks and spoken at the UN Human Rights Council. My work with athletes has been featured in museum exhibitions. When storytelling failed, I gathered evidence as a whistleblower to submit to reporting mechanisms as advised by UCI. I worked with a team of lawyers to represent dozens of athletes and witnesses in front of the UCI Ethics Commission.
What UCI doesn’t tell you is that their reporting systems only work easily for English and French speaking athletes. Their online reporting system doesn’t allow for easy uploading and reporting of evidence through WhatsApp, Signal, direct messaging and voice messaging which is how communication is frequently exchanged. And if it isn’t in English or French it must be translated, by a certified translator. Which requires financial means by the athlete’s reporting the abuse. This reporting system is within the UCI family. It is not independent. So if there is any conflict of interest, that puts the athlete’s at increased risk. There is not confidentiality guaranteed. Nor is there a clear understanding of how the evidence will be investigated. Athletes are not advised about the independent Ethics Commission that exists for this purpose. They are not given support to submit evidence to the commission or provided pro-bono legal support. They are required to figure this all out on their own.
When athletes are subjected to abuse by their Federation, they logically assume that they can take their allegations to UCI. They are shocked to find that UCI is not an ally. UCI too often ignores the pleas of athletes and sides with the federations, shielding the accused from allegations. Athletes are left to navigate a complex reporting system on their own. The easiest way forward is to find lawyers to help them, which are expensive.
In the case of the Afghan cyclists, they had a language barrier to start. Allegations of abuse against the President their own federation who was being protected by the President of UCI himself, David Lappartient. They had no allies within UCI, because UCI was protecting the Afghan Cycling Federation. Their abuse occurred during the evacuation of Afghans amidst the collapse of their country. They were being harassed, threatened, and abused by their Coach and federation president while fleeing Afghanistan or in hiding. When UCI was informed, they chose to ignore athletes and honor the abuser not once, but twice.
When I gathered evidence from the cyclists to report, I saw firsthand how challenging the online reporting system was. A journalist helped direct me to the Ethics Commission. A law firm that worked with me pro bono on the Afghan evacuation was willing to support the case once they saw the amount of evidence I had gathered. This case wasn’t one cyclist's word against the federation; this was a pattern of abuse and harassment with testimony and evidence submitted by a dozen cyclists. I also had witnesses to corroborate their allegations. The lawyers strengthened my complaint and brought it to the Ethics Commission. Yet, the case silenced myself and the cyclists for the duration of the investigation. If we spoke up in the press or on social media, we risked the case being dropped. The abuser had no such restrictions. He continued work as the coach and president of the federation, and he banned anyone who had challenged him.
It took 2 1/2 years for the investigation to be completed. Two and a half years during an evacuation and hiding and resettlement. Two and a half years of no news and being banned from cycling by the federation. Refugees who, even once they were resettled in new countries, couldn’t get a license from their federation to prove that they were cyclists. Safe, but denied the joy of cycling. Because they had dared to speak out against their abuser, they were punished and are still being punished nearly four years since this all started, even when the abuser was eventually found guilty.
The UCI Ethics Commission declared him guilty. Their statement confirmed that evidence we submitted had shown concrete examples of death threats, stating:
The statements were very aggressive with death threats. The intimidation and abuse of power were real and concreete. They targeted men and women, who, for some of them, remained in Afghanistan or had family who remained in Afghanistan, and whose lives and wellbeing were therefore in peril. These statements were vindictive, offensive, and damaged the integrity of individuals to an extent rarely seen in the world of sport.
Despite this shocking admission of wrongdoing written in the final decision handed down by the Ethics Commission, their penalty for the guilty party? A 15-month suspension, all fees and penalties waived. Worse, there was no oversight by UCI of this sentence. As such, there has been no acceptance or adherence to the suspension over the past year by the abuser. The Coach and President of the Afghan Cycling Federation is still in charge behind the scenes, and all the cyclists know it. He is abusing his power, and cyclists with the highest profile have the most to lose and, thus, are unwilling to speak up. They are finally safe, they are cycling, they are getting sponsors, they don't dare. What was the point of putting everyone through all that?
Lawyers have supported the cyclists to challenge the suspension and take the case to the International Court of Appeals because they recognized that a suspension was a ridiculously light penalty and does not offer athletes most at risk protection. A year and a half and then the abuser returns? A man who UCI themselves declared had “damaged the integrity of individuals to an extent rarely seen in the world of sport.” Two of the cyclists most at risk, both of whom submitted written evidence of death threats and both of whom are still trapped in Afghanistan, agreed to take the case forward. They are taking a considerable risk by pushing for a lifetime ban. As this goes forward, I have to wonder, to what end and at what cost? They deserve compensation. They deserve reparations. They deserve asylum. None of that is on the table.
I know see that my time, energy, fundraising, would have been better spent getting them those visas, and raising a shitstorm in the press. My skills are better put to use supporting the cyclists in exile who are organizing against their corrupt federation in an attempt to reclaim it for themselves, hold elections, rewrite bylaws, and build a more just federation. I believed that the system would support the athletes if we followed the rules. I misplaced my faith in law and international human rights governance.
I spent a decade working in Afghanistan rooted in the principles of mutual aid and the belief that ‘we take care of us.’ I worked outside the lines of international aid systems. I created projects that worked directly with the women and girls I wanted to help. I didn’t build an organization to increase staff and increase growth or profit. I built programs for the people that needed them. We created a community of care outside of the system. Because the system will not care for us. I saw that in Afghanistan. I see that in human rights and non-profit work. I saw that during the evacuations which I supported for three years. I saw that in multiple examples of sports abuse cases.
People in sports talk about athlete culture. They talk about change. At conferences. At sporting events. In the media. People living in safety with high-paying jobs create new rules and implement new reporting systems. But if and when the choice becomes protecting athletes or protecting profit. Profit wins every time. The athletes that play the sport these jobs are built upon rarely win. Not justice. Not acknowledgment of harm. No compensation or reparations.
I have seen examples in multiple sports through the lens of various countries. Unfortunately, my experience with Afghanistan’s cyclists, the Afghan Cycling Federation, and UCI is not unique. It is a firsthand example of holes in governance and reporting for abuse and corruption in sports.
The UCI Ethics Commission system meant to protect athletes does not work, and trying to reform the system, support the system, or make the system more robust will not work. Because it puts too much faith in the system, which is itself corrupt. It's the same with FIFA and any number of international governing bodies. They do not care enough about athlete’s physical or mental health to protect them. Genevieve Jeanson bravely called out UCI’s handling of abuse cases in a published open letter in 2021. Regulating sock length? Sure. That’s a rule they can easily regulate. Watch them increase the fines and penalties. Abuse of athletes? Harassment and sexual assault of cyclists? Doxxing journalists? They do not give a shit. Their record is proven. Doping and sock length will get you banned for life, or fined. Abuse of athletes, mental, physical, or sexually assaults, from positions of power will get a coach or staff a suspension at most.
So now what? We must abandon the systems based on regulations and system hierarchy that continue to siphon off resources, time, and energy from direct aid and support. We must build aid networks and funds that support athletes in tangible ways. Should abusers face punishment? Absolutely. But why are we looking to punish an abuser in the de facto court of sport governance? Who gave UCI or FIFA the authority to dole out justice? Abuse is a crime. Athletes should be guided towards reporting these as crimes and abusers should face actual criminal jail time. It’s strange that you can abuse an athlete and your only punishment is suspension from your job? Why aren’t these abusers in jail?
We are knowingly allowing the abuse of men and women who wanted to play their sport to continue unimpeded. We must encourage sports and human rights organizations to stop talking about reporting and regulation reform and start building resources for athletes to access. We must punish abusers within federations with concrete penalties in civil courts of law and do the same for corrupt and abusive staff within governing bodies.
The Afghan cyclists working right now to reclaim their federation are doing so for the second time in their history. I’vewitnessed this twice due to corrupt, abusive Presidents, both of which were fully supported by the UCI despite pleas by the cyclists and myself for help. Both times, it took me, as a foreigner, to act as a whistleblower and support the cyclists to get justice. The former coach and president faced a modicum of justice via a civil case in Afghanistan that was spearheaded by the men’s cycling team. I had captured a full confession of his corruption on camera. Even then, UCI had no interest in advising us on protecting athletes or sanctioning the federation. The current coach and president received a slap on the wrist through the ruling of the UCI Ethics Commission. In both circumstances, there were multiple charges of abuse and corruption, and dozens of athletes were willing to speak up. UCI ignored them. Look closely at any number of countries, and you’ll find similar cases… recently Belgium, and an eery parallel pattern of abuse to Afghanistan in Rwanda. Team Rwanda has a shocking history of abuse, which, much like the 2016 abuse cases in Afghanistan, collapsed the cycling program at the height of its success.
We need to build our community of care for athletes. We must establish funds to support athletes accessing interpreters, safehouses, and other resources. We need to create a list of lawyers willing to represent abuse cases pro bono in court and submit reports to the international sports governing bodies in parallel on behalf of athletes. Because the reporting systems require lawyers for athletes to be sufficiently heard and taken seriously. We must create a simple, step-by-step guide for athletes to understand how to run their federation effectively. In each language. Not just English and French. Sport by sport. So that there is no mystery, no secrets. How do you elect your leadership, how do you run for office, what are the responsibilities of each officeholder, and how do they liaise with the different levels of national, regional, and international federations and governing bodies? How to report abuse. This should not be shrouded in secrecy. It should be a manual available for any athlete to access easily. Federations should be made up of athletes for athletes so that they stay honest, transparent, and safe. International governing bodies must immediately clean house. They must enforce the rules and place athletes above all else. Or leave the playing field. Are they necessary for the sport? Athletes are more importantthan races or games, more important than sponsors, and more important than any coach or elected official. The inability or unwillingness to protect athletes is a stain on the reputation of all sports.
Skeptical or in need of models beyond our current systems? Look to our Muslim, queer, Black, Indigenous, and anti-racist feminist academics and activists in sport and human rights. In a world dominated by white men, these are the voices we need to be listening to and learning from as we move forward. Researchers and academics like Dr. Nida Ahmad and her colleagues who collaborated on a paper Spoilsports: Doing feminist work in sport spaces, published in the most recent volume of Women’s Studies International Forum. Structured as a conversation between the authors, this paper considers how different feminist perspectives and solutions to issues in sport are received by different stakeholders. It foregrounds the impacts of hostility and backlash intended to undermine activist efforts arising from feminist sport and movement cultures. It is a brilliant introduction to those new to the conversation and fulfilling, multi-perspective dialogue for those already embedded in the work.
How to help now? We have a fund for Hazara cyclists who escaped Afghanistan. But it's more than that; we need to create platforms to speak about this loudly. We need to set up funds that can be managed to support athletes. What would that look like? Who would manage it? These are bigger questions, but they must move beyond more discussions on reporting and policy papers. I’m tired of athletes only being helped after they are harmed.