In Venezuela football sexual harassment allegations have surfaced after players of the national women's team opened up on the conduct of their former coach. As per reports, about 24 players have signed a letter with said accusations against Kenneth Zseremeta who was coach till 2017.
Advertisment
Shared on social media by Deyna Castellanos, who plays forward for Venezuela's national women's football team, the letter written in Spanish speaks of "physical and psychological abuse during training" and "frequent harassment." Zseremeta has also been accused of abusing a 14-year-old player, as per Associated Press.
"Players of the LGBTI community were constantly questioned for their sexual orientation and the harassment of the heterosexual (players) was constant... There were threats and manipulation about telling parents of the players about their sexual orientation," it mentions.
"For a long time, we had all convinced ourselves that these experiences were normal. I had assumed that this machista environment built on exploitive control and degradation was the price a woman athlete had to pay to be a professional player," Castellanos adds in a personal statement accompanying the letter.
Venezuela Football Sexual Harassment Allegations Surface: #MeToo Moment In Sports
Zseremeta was coach of women's football in Venezuela for nine years. In 2014, under his leadership, Venezuela made it to the Under-17 World Cup semifinals organised by FIFA, in a first. As per reports from 2017, Zseremeta was fired from his position as the coach of the under-20 women’s team after he brought up the issue of his players' malnourishment at a time that Venezuela was facing an economic crisis.
The letter undersigned by Venezuelan soccer players further speaks of unsolicited calls and inappropriate gifts, as well as harassment during training sessions.
Advertisment
"It is NOT normal for a coach to ask players to come into his room to give them a massage during team camps and /or trips. It is NOT normal for a coach to use his power to manipulate you to do things you don’t want to do. That is not a coach, that is an abuser," Castellanos says in her statement.
Allegations from Venezuelan sportspersons emerge at a time that a report by The Athletic, which includes explosive sexual harassment accusations against former National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) coach Paul Riley, has stirred up massive controversy in the United States sports scene.
/shethepeople/media/agency_attachments/2024/11/11/2024-11-11t082606806z-shethepeople-black-logo-2000-x-2000-px-1.png){kind=logo}
Follow Us/shethepeople/media/post_banners/dO7kxOmSQR9aBhtzRlZO.jpg)