Athletes Vs. People In Power: When Sportswomen Spoke Up Against Their Assaulter

In January 2023, Indian wrestlers – female and male – staged a protest against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a BJP MP, accusing him of sexually harassing female athletes. Renowned faces such as Vinesh Phogat, Sakshi Malik, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya ensured that the issue received national attention, as they spoke to the media seeking justice for the unnamed victims.

Subsequently, an Oversight Committee was formed by the Sports Ministry to investigate the matter, a report of which was submitted to the government, but never made public. With no quick resolution in sight, an irked wrestling contingent has now resumed protests, even sleeping on the Jantar Mantar footpath at night.

The issue is gaining traction, attracting political parties and forcing the Supreme Court to intervene. With seven women wrestlers filing different complaints, the court also issued a notice to Delhi Police seeking the registration of an FIR against Brij Bhushan. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud labelled the allegations as “serious” while issuing the notice.

Thanks to India’s highest judiciary stepping in, justice may just smile on protesting wrestlers, and help prevent future incidents of this nature.

Women in sports have for long been at the receiving end of such misdemeanours by officials, coaches and other people in power.

In 2009, V Chamundeswaranath, who served as the Andhra Cricket Association’s secretary, was sacked following complaints from female cricketers accusing him of seeking sexual favours from them in return for their inclusion in the team. One of the cricketers, Durga Bhavani, took her life in 2015. Despite everything, Chamundeswaranath currently serves as the vice-president of Telangana Badminton Association.

Ruchika Girhotra, a 14-year-old tennis player, was abused by Haryana IPS officer and Haryana Lawn Tennis President SPS Rathore in 1990. Following an official complaint filed against him, the family reported that they were being constantly harassed, so much so that three years later, Ruchika ended her life by consuming poison. In a case where injustice won, Rathore saw himself climb through the ranks to make the family suffer endlessly. Although post-2000s, the case saw some development in favour of the Girhotras, it came at a severe price.

In November 2021, international women’s tennis player Peng Shuai had publicly accused former Vice Premier, Zhang Gaoli, of forcing her to have sexual relations with him. The allegations sparked widespread concern, with several players, dignitaries and organisations, including the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), calling for a separate investigation into the issue. Subsequently, Peng disappeared from public view, resulting in fear over her well-being. Over a month later, Peng retracted her claims of sexual assault when she said, “I wanted to make this very clear: I have never claimed, or written about anyone having sexually assaulted me. With regards to Weibo, it’s about my personal privacy... There’s been a lot of misunderstanding … There [should be] no distorted interpretation.” Her claim, however, contradicted her accusations which she had earlier made on Weibo.

Hope Solo, former American football team goalkeeper, and a controversial figure herself, has been an advocate for change in the treatment of female athletes. In doing so, she even shared her personal experience wherein she accused former FIFA president Sepp Blatter of having groped her at the 2013 Ballon d’Or ceremony. “Sexual harassment has been normalized,” she said. She then shared her thoughts on social media about the unwanted advances that female athletes face, while using the MeToo hashtag.

In a rare instance in sports that saw justice served, the USA gymnastics team had accused its team doctor Larry Nassar of sexually assaulting hundreds of gymnasts and athletes. When former gymnast Rachel Denhollander first named Nassar publicly, other gymnasts, too, came forward and spoke about similar allegations. Athletes Jeanette Antolin, Jessica Howard, and Jamie Dantzscher then appeared on 60 Minutes, accusing Nassar of abusing them and creating an “emotionally abusive environment”. Simone Biles and Kyle Stephens gave impact statements after Nassar received numerous sentencing penalties, including 60 years for child pornography. Nassar remains incarcerated since being sent to prison in 2019.

It is a mighty brave effort on the part of the Indian wrestlers to go up, twice, against someone as powerful as Brij Bhushan. May justice be theirs.