Civic Groups Criticize Son Woong-jung’s Soccer Academy… “Lack of Human Rights Sensitivity”
Four organizations, including the Sports Citizens’ Coalition, issue a joint statement: “A thorough investigation is needed”
Sports civic groups released a joint statement on the 1st, criticizing the leaders of the SON Football Academy, including Coach Son Woong-jung, amid the child abuse controversy, for “terribly lacking human rights awareness.”
Regarding the child abuse controversy at the SON Football Academy, the Alternative Sports Association of the Solidarity for Cultural Rights, the Culture, Arts, and Sports Committee of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society, the Sports Human Rights Research Institute, and the Sports Citizens’ Coalition stated, “We cannot help but feel devastated by the fact that such an incident has occurred again despite a social consensus to end violence in the sports world and the creation of various institutional devices to protect human rights.” 실시간 바카라사이트
Then, “Academy leaders claimed in a statement of explanation that there was an agreement between coaches and players to hit players if they were late for the first-come-first-served race, and that ‘there was never any word or action that did not presuppose love for the children.’
This is not much different from the excuses made by perpetrators of repeated human rights violations in the sports world,” they said.
The groups pointed out that “children who silently train to become successful athletes and the coaches who hold their leashes are by no means equal in status.
He criticized, “How can they bet or agree on corporal punishment on equal footing?” and “It is even more infuriating that in many sports violence incidents, coaches use ‘love’ and ‘discipline’ as an excuse to commit violence.”
He added, “There is no guarantee that similar child abuse does not occur at other private soccer academies.
Many children, teenagers, and parents may be silently enduring sports violence in order to succeed as players, hidden behind the ‘Son Heung-min myth.'”
These groups demanded that the SON Football Academy establish protection and support measures for the victimized children, and that the relevant authorities conduct a thorough investigation into this incident.
The Korea Football Association and the Sports Ethics Center also mentioned this, emphasizing that they should thoroughly investigate whether there is any sports violence in private football academies.
Recently, Son Heung-min (Tottenham), the star player of Korean football, and two coaches from the academy were sued for verbally abusing and physically punishing young players, and it was confirmed that they were sent to the prosecution for investigation under the Child Welfare Act on charges of child abuse.
Coach Son Woong-jung stated in a statement sent to Yonhap News on the 26th of last month, “I swear that there has never been a word or action by the Academy leaders that was not premised on love for the children,” and “I will reflect on the fact that I failed to keep up with the changing times and the standards set forth in the law and guided the children in my own way.”