Four-time Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser has a message for athletes targeted with harassment: Donât be afraid to seek help.
The hockey champ has been enlisted to help spread the message that the International Olympic Committee has a program in place to help athletes facing abuse.
âWe are there for you,â she says in a video posted to âWe believe in you,â she adds. âWeâll do the best thing possible to protect every athlete thatâs competing at the Olympic Games.â
Wickenheiser tells CTVâs Joy Malbon in Pyeongchang that the abuse exposed at U.S.A. Gymnastics and the #MeToo movement made clear that the IOC has âto take a stronger stance.â
As a female growing up in a male-dominated sport, Wickenheiser says sheâs known countless athletes who have faced âchallengesâ and that itâs âmore common than people would think.â
âYou name it, Iâve heard it,â she says. âEven some of the hazing or initiations I was put through when I was a younger player -- today you would never be allowed to do that in minor hockey, both male and female.â
Wickenheiser says that abuse and harassment is ânot OKâ but sometimes athletes are afraid to speak up, âbecause they donât feel they have a voice or theyâll have their spot on the team.â
âThereâs a lot of power you give away as an athlete to people that can control your fate and thatâs a scary thing for athletes -- especially when something goes wrong,â she says.
Still, the former team captain says people shouldnât be afraid to approach the who can refer them to legal or medical experts confidentially.
âThereâs been athletes that have used it,â Wickenheiser says from the athletes village, where posters are plastered advertising the service.
âI believe in Rio there were approximately 12 cases that came forward.â
With a report from CTVâs Joy Malbon in Pyeongchang, South Korea