Only about 30 percent of Finnish competitive athletes who responded to a survey by the Finnish Sports Ethics Center have not experienced inappropriate behavior in the past three years.
The survey was sent to more than 54,000 Finnish competitive athletes over the age of 16, and more than 2,000 athletes responded. The response rate was 3.7 percent.
A good 40 percent of those who responded to the survey have won a SC medal in their career. More than half (54.2 percent) have played sports at the national level. Of the respondents who declared their gender, 51.9 percent were men and 46.2 percent were women.
According to athletes, the most common inappropriate behavior is laughing, belittling, isolating or insulting treatment under the guise of humor, for example.
According to the research, competitive athletes also had many positive experiences. Almost 90 percent of the respondents said that they would like to go to training. Chairman of the Athletes’ Committee of the Olympic Committee Esa-Pekka Mattila was positively surprised by the result.
– You can say that there is clearly too much bullying, harassment and other unpleasant things. However, I think it’s important that 86 percent think it’s nice to go to training. If a similar study were done in any work community, the administration would clap their hands together. It would say that we are doing things right, track roller Mattila tells Urheilu.
The sports psychologist responsible for the study Kasken’s fairy tale according to recent results, there is also less inappropriate treatment in Finnish competitive sports than, for example, in the workplace.
– I still don’t hope that we can breathe a sigh of relief. We have a lot of work left, Kaski stresses.
More often than not, the other athlete treats them inappropriately
Vice-chairman of the Athletes’ Committee of the Olympic Committee Ella Junnila is also happy that most of them are happy to go to training. However, Mattila and Junnila say that there is room for improvement.
Another athlete was most often mentioned as the perpetrator of inappropriate treatment, except for irresponsible activity, where the coach received the most mentions. Irresponsible activity was defined in the questionnaire as, for example, behavior that disturbs and makes it difficult for a team or group to function.
Mattila and Junnila were surprised that most of the time one athlete treated the other inappropriately. Junnila did not know how to expect such a result, because she has no personal experience of another athlete’s inappropriate behavior or bullying towards another.
– The result was surprising when compared to the mainstream narrative. There is a lot of talk about organization-level bullying, bullying and belittling, or about the coach treating them inappropriately, says Mattila.
On the other hand, Mattila thought the result was logical.
– Athletes, however, have the most contact with other athletes. If the rules of the game regarding communication, commenting or criticizing are not clear within the groups, such feelings can arise, Mattila reflects.
Mattila and Junnila say that athletes also have their own responsibility along with other players in the sports community.
– Some athletes need to look in the mirror at how we create better sports and a better environment and situation for everyone in sports, Junnila states.
– It is false from the athletes to simultaneously demand the organization field, coaches and other operators to improve their actions, if they themselves are not ready for it. If we all do our own plot a little better, it will go a long way, Mattila emphasizes.
National team volleyball player Ronja Heikkiniemi finds it unfortunate that another athlete treats another athlete inappropriately.
– It evokes negative feelings. This is an important place to consider whether a good and healthy operating culture is considered valuable enough, says Heikkiniemi.
According to him, however, it is not a question of whether Finnish athletes do not understand the importance of a healthy activity culture.
– However, do we value a fair teammate as much as a hard scorer? Heikkiniemi asks.
Heikkiniemi is satisfied that, according to the research, the responsible operation of the group seems to have a protective effect against inappropriate and irresponsible treatment. According to Heikkiniemi, you have to understand how valuable a well-functioning group is. According to the volleyball player, it’s not a nice extra.
– It should be self-evident that the characteristic of a successful athlete is to respect every fellow athlete and behave properly, Heikkiniemi states.
According to the study, women have a higher risk of receiving inappropriate and irresponsible treatment than men. The only exception is physical violence, where, according to the study, men are in the highest risk group. Young age also increases the risk of experiencing inappropriate behavior.
– I think it’s really sad. All in all, I think it’s sad that inappropriate treatment and actions take place. But at this point, it’s sad that there are such stereotypical predisposing factors, Junnila states.
Why is inappropriate behavior not recognized in sports?
The study published now is a continuation of the study on Harassment in Finnish competitive sports published two years ago. At that time, it was reported how every third female athlete who responded to the survey had experienced sexual harassment in competitive sports.
So why is inappropriate behavior not recognized in sports, when it has been talked about quite a lot? According to Kaske, many things influence this, but he highlights one cultural factor.
– In international research, there is a lot of talk about a hypermasculine way of perceiving the world, i.e. an aggressive and tough way of speaking and acting. It narrows everyone’s being and can prevent recognizing whether an action is appropriate or inappropriate, Kaski states.
In a recent survey, a few comments emerged from the open-ended responses that talking about improper treatment is ridiculous and pointless. According to the answers, for example, certain kinds of speech should be tolerated, and should not be offended.
– Honor the old values…Such pointless questions and discussions are gone, the study reported from one open answer.
On the other hand, hopelessness appeared in some of the answers. In the answers, elite sports were considered to be terrain where changes to inappropriate behavior in elite sports were seen as impossible. When the survey asked whether the perceived inappropriate and irresponsible treatment stopped, the answer was that it rarely stopped completely.
According to Ronja Heikkiniemi, questionable situations may be left unexamined if it is perceived to affect, for example, the team’s workload and success.
– On the other hand, it is no argument to accept improper behavior. This study also found that inappropriate behavior has affected the performances of bullied athletes, Heikkiniemi emphasizes.
It was noteworthy two years ago that even 59 percent of athletes could not say whether their sports association had intervened in harassment or had worked to prevent it.
Even now, the same type of problem emerged from the athletes’ open answers. The answers highlighted the athletes’ desire to get help if they are subjected to inappropriate and irresponsible treatment. Starting from where to contact and where to get help.
The majority of those who had experienced sexual and gender-based harassment, bullying, physical violence, unequal and discriminatory behavior and irresponsible behavior answered that the situation had not been clarified.
Kaski reminds that different channels have been built for athletes to report inappropriate behavior. SUEK has an ILMO service where you can report various violations in sports. Väestöliito has a similar service called “You’re not alone”.
– These channels have been created and efforts have been made to change attitudes, but the channels are quite far from the athlete’s everyday life, says Kaski.
Change is the responsibility of the entire sports community
In the study, the athletes were also asked how improper treatment should be prevented or prevented. In addition to the auxiliary channels, the athletes’ answers highlighted their hopes for a change in the operating culture and habits. In the answers, for example, the “insider or good brother” system needed to change.
– In sports organizations, regular personnel changes would help the formation of good brother networks, one open-ended answer said in the survey.
In the research, the athletes’ answers also highlighted training coaches to recognize improprieties and stronger consequences for improper behavior.
The responses also requested legal advice and the services of a low-cost sports psychologist.
According to Satu Kaske, building a new kind of sports culture should start at the grassroots level.
– From the importance of one person, we should be able to see more about how the system works, Kaski states.
Ella Junnila takes responsibility for building a new kind of culture from the entire sports community. According to the SE woman of high jump, federations, clubs and the Olympic Committee have the responsibility to create, for example, clear instructions and operating models on how to act in different situations and thereby contribute to the creation of a better environment.
– I see that this is the responsibility of all of us, Junnila emphasizes.