Bossing in Sport – When Power Is Abused

Sport stands for fairness, respect, community, and personal development. Especially in organized sport, values such as camaraderie, equal opportunity, and the protection of athletes should be a matter of course. Yet reality does not always reflect these ideals. One often tabooed but very real problem is bossing in sport – the systematic abuse of power by officials, coaches, or those in positions of responsibility against individual athletes.

Bossing is a specific form of bullying. It describes ongoing, targeted exclusion, harassment, or discrimination carried out by people in positions of power or leadership. In sport, bossing is often not loud or overt, but subtle, bureaucratic, and strategic:

• Exclusion from training, competitions, or events

• Denial of competition licenses or eligibility to compete

• Ignoring applications, letters, or requests for dialogue

• Defamation, false allegations, or damaging file notes

• Intimidation through threats, complaints, or legal action

• Isolation within the club or association

Because sports organizations are hierarchically structured, those affected often have very limited means of defending themselves. Anyone who controls licenses, competition rights, or memberships holds enormous power over athletic and personal life paths.

I am not writing these lines out of theoretical interest, but from my own painful experience. Over many years in the sport of wrestling, I experienced what it means to be systematically excluded.

Instead of fair treatment and sporting competition, I faced:

• Years of isolation within clubs and associations

• A lack of transparency in decisions that directly affected me

• Complete silence in response to factual and reasonable inquiries

• The impression of arbitrary measures without comprehensible justification

• Legal pressure, complaints, and court proceedings

What was particularly burdensome was not only the loss of sporting prospects, but the constant psychological strain. Being told, implicitly and over many years, that you are not wanted – despite having done nothing wrong – leaves lasting marks.

Bossing is not a “subjective feeling” and not a sign of weakness. It is well established that prolonged psychological pressure can make people seriously ill. In my case, years of stress led to severe health consequences.

Chronic stress, inner restlessness, sleep disorders, exhaustion, and depressive symptoms are typical outcomes. When those affected additionally experience institutional failure or indifference, the consequences can become existential – up to and including permanent inability to work.

Bossing in sport destroys not only careers, but people.

A central issue is the lack of independent oversight in organized sport. Complaints often circulate in a closed loop:

Club → Association → Association → Club

Those affected face officials who protect one another. Transparent procedures, genuine ombuds offices, or effective protection mechanisms are often missing or exist only on paper.

Anyone who resists is quickly labeled “difficult,” a “troublemaker,” or a “nuisance” – another classic mechanism of bossing.

For a long time, I remained silent. Out of fear, out of hope for insight, and out of a desire not to burden the sport further. Today I know: silence does not protect those affected – it protects the perpetrators.

I speak out because:

• Bossing in sport must be made visible

• Other affected individuals should know they are not alone

• Abuse of power must not remain a taboo

• Sport preserves its values only if it critically reflects on itself

This page is intended to inform, raise awareness, and give courage. Courage to look closely. Courage to ask questions. Courage to take those affected seriously.

Sport must not be a lawless space. Fairness does not end on the mat.

If you yourself are experiencing or have experienced exclusion, arbitrariness, or abuse of power in sport, then know this: you are not the problem.

Bossing in sport must be named, confronted, and brought to an end.