Rana Reider, 44, had consensual relationship with 18 year old UK sprinter. Gross, but how is that worthy of him being banned?

Allowing romantic relationships between coaches and the elite athletes they coach creates an irreconcilable conflict of interest that will always call into question the coaches decision making. Is the coach recruiting athletes based on ability or is the coach putting a priority on whether the athlete is good looking? Is the coach providing all the athletes the appropriate amount of time and attention or is the coach favoring an athlete in order to try to start a romantic relationship? And once a romantic relationship forms, is the coach still being objective or cutting the athlete breaks to keep him/her happy in order to sustain the relationship? And then there is the slippery slope of having a coach go from having a one off relationship to abusing the power dynamic in order to have multiple relationships and athletes being put in a position where they feel compelled to succumb to romantic advances in order to stay on the team and have the attention of the coach. Finally, while it is tempting to poo poo these concerns as being Victorian and paternalistic of adult athletes, you have to admit that Reider's relationship with this athlete probably would not have occurred absent the coach/athlete relationship. Had Reider met an 18 year old athlete from another training group at a track meet, stuck up a conversation and then tried to get the athlete to go out on a date, the athlete would have almost certainly been grossed out and said no. It was almost certainly the emotional involvement between coach and athlete that gave Reider the opportunity to start a romantic relationship. So, a zero tolerance policy on coach/athlete romantic relationships is really the only way to go.

i'm glad it wasn't my daughter, but.... wrote:

I thought we no longer told adults who they can and can’t have sex with?

Seriously, if you are an administrator how do you legislate this? Remember, sometimes in a coach athlete relationship, the athlete actually has more power as they pay the bills.

From the article:

UKA’s rules at the time did not expressly ban relationships between a coach and an athlete, section 4.3 (iii) of their coach licence scheme drafted in 2012 stated: ‘It is also strongly recommended that coaches do not allow intimate relationships to develop with athletes (coached or supervised by them) even if they are over the age of 18’.

Under current rules it is banned and a coach could permanently lose his or her licence.

UKA can’t make it illegal, but they can make against their licensing rules. In 2014, when the relationship occurred, they had not. I’m glad they made the rule now: if consenting adults want to date, fine, just don’t also be coach-athlete. It is not clear why/if they have standing to ban him for the past.

If we start saying stuff like this is unacceptable, there won’t be any incentive remaining to coach!

new illegal wrote:

I banged a 16 year old at 23, all legal but you're mad about it and that's way closer than 44-18

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