In an inspiring and gripping article, Sports Illustrated’s December 17, 2012 edition features the stories of Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey and Judo Gold Medalist Kayla Harrison. Both are survivors of child sexual abuse. R.A. Dickey suffered abuse by a 13-year-old babysitter and later a teenage boy and Kayla Harrison by her coach of many years.
The article details their struggles and shows how predators can easily gain access to children. In Kayla’s case, her own olympic dream was used by her predator coach to gain access to her. The author, Gary Smith, points out that “the athletes with the biggest futures could be the easiest prey, blackmailed by their own dreams”.
