News headlines today report that various high profile footballers have come forward to confirm that they have been the victims of sexual abuse during childhood.
For some considerable time we have known of the risks of abuse to children in a sporting environment. There have been stories of aspiring tennis players who have suffered abuse at the hands of their coaches. There have been rumours in other sports about possible abuse and we are now told that the most high profile sport of all, professional football, is not immune to this.
In most of the abuse work we deal with you find that somebody in a vulnerable position is abused by somebody in a position of authority. It may be a high ranking clergyman and a choir boy. It may be a school teacher and a pupil. It may be a parent and a child. There always appears to be the juxtaposition between the person with authority and the vulnerable child.
This is reflected in the stories of abuse of footballers. These are young men desperate to progress to the potential riches afforded by the life of a professional footballer. Their coach is in a position to help them on this journey. It is sad but not surprising that this abuse has taken place. It is often the case that when a story of this nature reaches the media it is likely to be the tip of a large iceberg with many other footballers both at amateur and professional level having suffered similar abuse to that described recently by Paul Stewart.
As solicitors specialising in this area of work we are happy to help any victims. Not only do we have a strong Sports Law department but we have one of the leading Abuse Claims departments in the country and are well placed to provide advice to anybody who wishes to discuss in confidence any problems that they have suffered of this nature during childhood. You can contact us on 0845 287 0939 or complete our online enquiry form.