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SUPERHUMANS OR SITTING DUCKS?
EXAMINING THE GAPS IN ELITE ATHLETES’ KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR RIGHTS IN SPORT DR YETSA A. TUAKLI-WOSORNU Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu, MD, MPH is an Associate Research Scientist at the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut. Dr Tuakli-Wosornu is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, also known as a physiatrist. When she works with patients, Dr Tuakli-Wosornu often draws upon her personal experience as an athlete. She is a long jumper who represented the Ghana National Team until 2016. She also represents the International Paralympic Committee as part of the International Olympic Committee Prevention of Harassment and Abuse working group. Dr Tuakli-Wosornu is the founder and director of the Sports Equity Lab in association with Yale (SELY)1.
The most interesting scientific questions are often also the simplest. The project described below, the Athletes’ Rights survey, is no exception. So far, data has uncovered varied, inconsistent, and gendered understandings of rights across sporting disciplines and geographical regions. While the study is far from complete, it feels important to share what we have learned so far. The summary below chronicles why and how the Athletes’ Rights survey began, and where things stand to date.
‘ATHLETES ARE THE SPORT’ BUT I HAVE QUESTIONS Ignorance deprives people of freedom because they do not know what alternatives there are. It is impossible to choose to do what one has never heard of. – Ralph B. Perry
In November 2019, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) removed the 200m, 3,000m steeplechase, discus throw and triple jump events from Dimond League competitions. In response, Olympic and World Champion triple jumper Christian Taylor started an aptly named social media campaign #wearethesport2. Track and field athletes from every corner of the globe raised their hands, locked arms, and signed Taylor’s petition, challenging a seemingly arbitrary reconfiguration of an age-old international Games program. #wearethesport invited athletes to acknowledge, unify and use their voices against a system that neither considered nor consulted them in a decision with huge athlete-level impacts, including earnings potential. But before #wearethesport, how many athletes knew and believed they had a voice, that they could use their voice, and most importantly, that it would be heard?
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER | VOLUME 29: ISSUE 2 – AUGUST 2020
