I do hope that people treat this reckoning with some compassion and understanding for the coaches in addition to the players. Especially the older coaches who were trained in the environments that people are now trying to change.
Obviously, there are and will continue to be stories of abuse that are extreme or so terrible that the coach would deserve the criticism and vitriol. I'm talking about the cases that are more borderline, where a bad decision or action is used to completely define a person and undoes every other thing they have done in their coaching career.
The other thing that a mob mentality does (imo) is it discourages people from reporting issues because they do not believe that a coach deserves to have their reputation completely destroyed or their career ended over a mistake (even if that mistake caused significant damage).
Being a coach is a difficult, but rewarding task. It is undoubtedly a position of power and accountability is important because of that power. One positive that I am able to take out of this moment is an appreciation for the coaches I have had in life who were great and had a very positive impact for me.
Overall, I just hope that people remember that this 'reckoning' should be focused more on the changes that will improve athletics for everyone and less on the spectacle of tarring and feathering people.
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