Evon Buchanan coached track and field for Athletics Canada for many years. On September 11, 2020, a decision was made to suspend Buchanan from being involved with any members and track and field clubs connected to Athletics Canada. On November 9, 2020, the decision to Ban Buchanan was made.  

Multiple female athletes that were coached by Buchanan, accused him of sexual harassment. The same sort of thing happened with the USA Swimming team where athletes spoke up about sexual abuse caused by the coach or, in this case, the Executive Director. With this being brought up, the resignation of this man has potentially to lead to more young athletes reaching out and talking about how they were victims of sexual abuse and can lead to a better understanding of why this happens.  

So many young athletes are sexually abused and don’t speak up about it at the young age. These young athletes look up to their coaches and teachers as role models and they trust them. It doesn’t seem to be just girls who are victims of sexual assault in sport, but it is more likely that a boy victim of sexual assault is less likely to come forward and admit that they were a victim. This type of thing happens a lot more than we all expect and there are many times that the victim keeps it to themselves. What can we do as a society, to make it easier for a victim to tell their story? 

Justin M.