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What is bullying in sport?

About
Conception
Causes
Acts
Participants
Process
Consequences
Help
Intervention

Conception of bullying in sport

Bullying is one of the kinds of violence experienced in a sporting environment. These are systematic repetitive intentional acts that create an intimidating environment and cause (or may cause) any physical, psychological or financial harm. Bullying is usually accompanied by the difference in power. That is, the target of bullying always finds himself / herself in the weaker person’s position. The aggressor is not necessarily physically stronger because the predominance of power is gained by merging into a group or through certain power vested in the person (for example, a team captain, a coach, an administrative employee, and the like).

What are the kinds of bullying?

Bullying is divided into direct and indirect, individual and group. Direct bullying is any hostile behaviour overtly used against another person. Indirect bullying, as the name already implies, involves covert acts that create the intimidating environment, for example, by spreading rumours, discussing details of private life, excluding from the group (socially separating), etc. Individual bullying is directed at one person, while group bullying takes place against two or more persons (for example, a coach or other persons sneer, scold, downgrade several members of the team or the whole team, assign physical tasks in order to “teach the lesson” or “punish”).

Depending on the acts used, bullying is also divided into certain groups: verbal, physical, social, electronic.

Verbal

Simply put, these are any verbal attacks. For example, insults, name-calling, sneering comments, irony, teasing, gossips, threats, comments related to the person’s appearance, gender, race, worldview, social status, and the like.

Physical

It is the infliction of physical and psychological pain through the use of physical force. For example, hitting, shoving, biting, spitting, plucking, tripping, taking away money, taking away and damaging belongings, thefts, ejection from the room. Although some acts are most noticeable, they are not always recognized as bullying. For example, giving the flick, touching in an abusive way, forcing to do physical exercises in order to “teach a lesson”, “punish”, and the like.

Social

It is the manipulation of social relationships that causes discomfort, psychological pain experienced due to rejection, social isolation. For example, ignoring, avoiding communication, separation from the group, unfounded accusations, intrigues, downgrading reputation in the eyes of others, various rituals of acceptance into the group, degrading treatment of “newcomers”, and the like. It can be overt or covert, which makes it more difficult to spot.

Electronic

Also called online bullying, cyber bullying because various electronic technologies are employed. That is, through the use of social networks, online forums, email systems. Acts can range from verbal, social to physical attacks manifesting themselves by taking over, damaging equipment by sending malware.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Conception of bullying in sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

Causes of bullying in sport

Bullying in sport occurs for a number of interrelated reasons. Regardless of the age of the participants of bullying or their role in the organization, several groups of such causes can be distinguished.

Individual causes. Often the targets of bullying distinguish themselves by certain qualities that make them vulnerable. For example, persons who are younger, physically weaker, look depressed, less self-confident, and the like. Individuals with less developed social skills, which make it more difficult for them to deal with conflict situations constructively, who keep aloof from others or who stand out by their social status, appearance, sexual orientation, and other traits that “annoy” others may be attacked. Whereas the aggressor stands out by better social competencies, which help him to secure other athletes’ support in the bullying process, distinguishes himself/herself by narcissism, egocentrism, weak empathy, and the ability to manipulate others without avoiding violence.

Organizational causes. Bullying spreads in the environment that lacks interpersonal respect, social support, strictly defined ethical norms, a positive example of the coach, whereas aggressors are confident that they will avoid employees’ adequate reactions and sanctions in response to their behaviour. The risk of bullying increases in teams and sports organizations in which strong interpersonal competition and the “winning at all costs” ideology prevail, and there is a lack of efficient mechanisms to control unethical behaviour. Scant attention of sports federations to the phenomenon of bullying also contributes to this.

Socio-cultural context. It includes values, norms, stereotypes that can make bullying unrecognizable, supported, or tolerated. For example, beliefs that rude behaviour “psychologically hardens”, coaches’ bullying “motivates” to make more effort and that only “psychologically weak” and therefore “low-achieving” athletes complain about the experienced violence and withdraw from sport. Physical and psychological violence against opponents in the name of victory, spectators’ bullying can be considered a certain norm.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Causes of bullying in sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

Acts of Bullying in Sport

Some acts of bullying are mentioned while presenting the conception of bullying in sport, but it is worth talking about them more broadly. Primarily because bullying is understood quite narrowly in everyday speech.

Probably the word bullying itself is usually associated with sneering, mockery. However, in the Lithuanian language, the meaning of this word is significantly broader and includes everything that is done to arouse another person’s resentment and anger. The meaning of the English term bullying, which is translated as patyčios, also includes intimidation. In other words, the person is not only hurt but also intimidated.

How is such intimidating environment created? On the one hand, the atmosphere itself that is created by the hostile behaviour of group members is frightening, even if no physical force is used. The athlete who has become the target of bullying feels insecure because he or she may be attacked in one way or another at any time: wrongly accused, rejected, humiliated. That is, forced to constantly worry, fear, and feel stress. On the other hand, intimidation can also manifest itself directly by openly threatening to do something. For example, to beat up, rape, maim, kill, damage financial well-being, not to allow to participate in the competition, throw out of the team or harm him/her or their loved ones in various ways. Therefore, any intentional, malicious behaviour that actually or potentially causes psychological or physical harm is referred to as acts of bullying in sport. Regardless of the source of those actions (athletes, coaches, the organization’s leaders or ordinary employees, fans or family members).

Acts that are attributed to bullying in the scientific literature are often referred to by coaches as “friendly banters”, “play” (when speaking about young athletes), and the like.
Indeed, overt bullying, which manifests itself by both more recognizable verbal (insulting, criticism, name-calling, shouting, etc.) and non-verbal acts (hitting, knocking down, harassment, etc.), can be easily recognized.
However, attention should be drawn to less noticeable, “more subtle” hidden aspects of social bullying, which may seem “innocent” at first glance.

Social type bullying is not limited to exclusion from the group and social isolation by avoiding, stopping to communicate or directly prohibiting other persons to communicate with the target. A wide range of refined ways of manipulating other persons’ opinion, emotions, which harm the reputation of the target of bullying, also fall into this type of bullying. For example, by emphasizing “poor” social background, criticizing private life, physical or character traits, dropping hints about mental health, denigrating or omitting sporting achievements, and emphasizing failures, the audience is encouraged to avoid the target. This way, not only anxiety about personal reputation, psychological pain are caused. At the same time, social contacts are curtailed, and social support so needed for the target of bullying is reduced.

However, it should be borne in mind that in practice different types of bullying intertwine and in addition to that, bullying itself links up with other phenomena, such as discrimination or sexual harassment. For example, constant criticism, sneers, knocking down, and damage to clothes and other items have a social connotation too. These and other ways not only cause psychological or physical pain to the target of bullying but also undermine the person’s reputation in the eyes of others. The target is marked as weak, unable to defend himself or herself, implying that he or she is unworthy of communication and friendship. In other words, all of it promotes the person’s social isolation.

Questions may arise as to whether certain acts related to the gender of the target (derogatory comments, sexual type remarks, insults related to sexual orientation, and the like) should not be attributed to another category – the category of sexual harassment. Can be, but it is necessary to pay attention to the purpose for which the acts are performed. That is, seeking sexual pleasure and forcing to satisfy it or trying to degrade, insult, and hurt? In addition, sexual type bullying is often caused by unsatisfied sexual expectations: if no attention is received, revenge is taken.    

Thus, what has been cursorily discussed alone shows that bullying in the sports environment is a much more complex phenomenon than it may seem at first glance. Therefore, it is appropriate for athletes and coaches, employees and the whole community of sports organizations to deepen and update their knowledge that will help to better recognize acts of bullying in practice.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Acts of Bullying in Sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

Participants of bulling in sport

Bullying takes place not only in a sports field, it involves athletes, coaches, referees and spectators.

Although one may have an impression that there are one or more bullying individuals, actually the process involves a significantly larger circle of people whose roles are less visible. Several types of roles are distinguished.

Bullies. The initiator and his/her supporters of bullying are attributed to this type of bullying. The initiator initiates the bullying process and mobilizes several supporters who motivate the initiator, incite, and participate in the attacks themselves.

Bystanders. They do not directly participate in bullying, but some assume the role of “fans”, others indifferently watch or pretend not to see anything for fear of bullies’ attacks against them. All of it “unties hands” to bullies, while the target of bullying does not receive social support.

Defender. A person who resolutely stops bullying while interceding the target or taking him/her out from the dangerous environment.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Participants of bulling in sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

The Process of Bullying in Sport

The uncountable noun bullying itself denotes a phenomenon – we are not talking about one-time insult, humiliation, or the use of physical force. Regardless of who is bullying and what goals are pursued (e.g., while competing, seeking to remove a target from the group or “motivating” an athlete to achieve higher performance), usually an intimidating atmosphere causing discomfort and stress is created, the impact of which occurs only after a certain period of time.

The onset of bullying before the process is in full swing is not easy to notice. Primarily because some actions, for example, irony of group members, repulsive glances, and avoidance of communication, gossips are often not considered reprehensible. In addition, there is a peculiar culture in sport, which justifies violence used by coaches “in the name of good aims”, belittling of newcomers, and the psychological and physical violence, associating it with the athletes’ “psychological hardening”.

Although the target of bullying feels discomfort, in the beginning he or she either does not attach importance to the attacks or hopes that they will somehow end by themselves. The protracted process is accompanied by a lack of self-confidence, various fears (e.g., that resistance “will only make things worse” and that if coaches are notified, members of the group will condemn), traditions, rituals, or the inability to constructively resolve conflicts (aggression, confrontation).

The bullying process is commonly characterized by mobilization of supporters and the so-called “adding fuel to the fire”. That is, after a person is identified as a target “to be removed,” the support team that is involved into the process is mobilized. In addition, the initiators of bullying always watch the reactions to their behaviour, and desired reactions “add fuel to the fire”.

What reactions do bullies expect? First, they expect fright of the target of bullying, signs of fear and passivity. In addition, the approval or at least passivity of group members, outsiders is usually expected. These signs indicate to the bully or bullies that the preponderance of forces is on their side, that there is no adequate resistance, just like there are no sanctions too, and there will be no in the future. All of it only encourages to continue bullying. Therefore, it is extremely important who and how will react: the target of bullying, group members watching the process, coaches, the administrative staff or outsiders.

The bullying process itself can be broken down according to frequency and duration. In terms of frequency, bullying can be referred to as irregular; for example, several episodes per season, or persistent, with attacks occurring once or several times a week throughout all season. According to duration, short-term bullying can be defined as actions that last one or several weeks; and long-term bullying, as actions lasting one or several seasons.

The duration of bullying depends on numerous factors, such as the target’s ability to cope with the conflict situation constructively, the means used in attacks and the intensity of attacks, the engagement of group members in the process, and the ability of other persons to spot and stop bullying in time. Thus, it can be stated that bullying in sport is a dynamic process of dealing with the target, characterized by repetitive and long-lasting attacks. It involves a group of athletes and rarely occurs using one way of negative impact on the target.

It is observed that the frequency and duration of attacks are interrelated and that the more frequent and prolonged they are, the broader the context they encompass, ranging from workouts and competitions to relationships taking place outside the sports organization (i.e., not during workouts and competitions). In addition, duration of bullying also determines the actions that will be used. For example, if bullying is long-lasting, most likely not only verbal, physical but also social bullying will be used. If no timely action is taken to stop this process, it may continue until the target is removed or leaves the group himself or herself.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Process of Bullying in Sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

Consequences of Bullying in Sport

Depending on who is suffering and what kind of harm is experienced, the consequences of bullying in sport can be divided into three groups: for the individual, organization, and society. However, it should be noted that neither the athlete nor the sports organization exists in a vacuum; thus, different kinds of consequences intertwine and arise primarily from experiences at the individual level.

Individual consequences of bullying. The effect of bullying on a person is threefold: (i) on mental health, (ii) on physical health, and (iii) on socio-economic well-being.

(i) The impact of bullying on the victim’s mental health manifests itself by increased anxiety, intrusive thoughts, moral thinking, attention disorders, aggressiveness, risky behaviour, insomnia, nightmares, emotional instability, occupational burnout, depression, etc. In more severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicidal or homicidal ideation are diagnosed.

Often victims of bullying resort to psychological and physical violence themselves. At a younger age, they target peers, and at an older age, family members.

The consequences of cyber bullying are similar to those striking in real life. These include experiencing anger, despair, the feeling of betrayal, confusion, sadness, various fears, fatigue, suicidal thoughts, etc.

 (ii) The physical consequences of bullying are caused both by the directly experienced violence (contusions, fractures) and by the intense long-term stress causing psychosomatic disorders. Over time, it results in headaches, increase of blood pressure, digestive disorders, and exacerbation of chronic diseases.

Often, athletes experiencing bullying start training more intensively, increase their physical loads (which encourages coaches to believe that certain psychological and physical violence they use “motivates” to strive for better performance), and therefore risk to overtire, experience related skeletal and connective tissue injuries, the danger of which increases even more due to disturbed attention and a propensity to risky behaviours.

Lacking abilities to cope with stress, attempts are made to reduce it by using sedatives, alcohol, drugs, tobacco products, while various developed addictions exhaust physical and mental health.

 (iii) The social consequences of bullying encompass a decrease in social contacts (person’s rejection is accompanied by avoidance of communication in general, decrease of self-confidence and confidence in surrounding people), impaired family relationships, divorce, interrupted sports careers, downgraded social status, etc.

Some studies demonstrate that the effects of bullying experienced in youth are also felt in adulthood. For example, the risk of developing anxiety disorders increases, and the victims who have become bullies are at a higher risk of experiencing panic attacks and falling ill with depression. Women who have experienced bullying in childhood are at a higher risk for agoraphobia; and men, for suicide. In addition, it has been observed that, compared to persons who had not experienced bullying, former victims, even after several decades, had accumulated less savings and other assets, experienced difficulties in their professional activities, and turned to healthcare professionals more often.

Although commonly the discussions on the negative consequences of bullying focus on its targets, it has been noted that often persons who were bullies in their youth later suffer from lower socio-economic status, social behaviour disorders, substance dependence, and come under the jurisdiction more frequently.

Consequences for the sports organization. Victims of bullying miss workouts more often, due to experienced ailments their physical capacity and performance decrease, and the experienced burnout leads to higher turnover of athletes, which weakens the organization itself, requires more time and expenses for adaptation and training of new athletes. In addition, on-going incidents increase interpersonal tension, distrust, anxiety, which are also experienced by witnesses of physical and psychological violence. All of it negatively affects the overall psychological atmosphere, influences cooperation both between group members and between athletes and coaches. At the same time, reputation is also damaged, as organisations rarely succeed in concealing the incidents.

Consequences for the society. In sport, like in other professional activity areas, bullying increases spending on healthcare and social support, and the return on investment in sport suffers. In addition, coaches who use physical and psychological violence, figuratively speaking, “pass the baton” – athletes who have experienced bullying continue applying this flawed practice when they become coaches, find it more difficult to recognize bullying in athletes’ interrelationships, try to hide or justify it.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Consequences of Bullying in Sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/ 

Help after experiencing bullying in sport

The target of bullying. Bullying causes fear and shame. These are natural human feelings, one should not be afraid and ashamed of them. Bullying is experienced by millions of people around the world and this is so not because they are in some way worse than others. On the contrary, targets are often those whose abilities and achievements are envied by someone.

Even if the situation seems hopeless, you can still do something.

First, you need to admit to yourself that you are in trouble and you will need help: from other team or group members, the coach, friends, and loved ones.

Second, name the problem out loud and ask people around you for help. It will be a very bold and wise move, as the perpetrators are afraid of being unmasked, while persons around them are more benevolent to those who ask for help.

Third, avoid disputes with the abuser or abusers. Disputes do no good. In addition, they lead to storming, emotional imbalance, avalanche of insults, accusations, and empty threats. All this just “adds fuel to the fire”.

Fourth, if possible, avoid being left alone with the bully or bullies.

Fifth, bullies seek to instil fear, and it is betrayed by language and behaviour such as lowered shoulders, an averted glance. Do not cower, do not avoid eye contact. Communicate in a calm voice, respectfully, friendly. If you do not give them what they want, the wish to harass will reduce.

Sixth, harassers are waiting for a passive reaction; therefore, always let the coach know and ask for his help. If the coach does not react, supports harassers or bullies himself, report to the administration of your sports organization. If your organization does not have a formal notification submission procedure, you can use the automated notification form created on this website. To do this, select the menu item “Notification form”.

Seventh, bullying is accompanied by intrusive thoughts: incidents are constantly remembered, who said what, who threatened, did, plans for revenge are created. All of it increases stress, anxiety and is extremely tiring. Keep an eye on what you are thinking. Having noticed such thoughts, say “Stop” to yourself. Remember: notification about bullying will be of service to your friends because today you are bullied but tomorrow, another athlete may become the target of bullying.

Team/group members. The reactions of persons around influence abusers’ behaviour. Even if you yourself do not participate in bullying but avoid showing disapproval of what is happening, bullying will continue. One day, it may be that the target will be you.

If you have witnessed an attack, resolutely take the victim to a safe environment.

Do not leave the victim alone with abusers, if necessary, escort home and meet when coming to workouts or competitions.

Report the incident to the coach or the organization’s administration. Remember that bullying is a crime, and if you conceal it, you become an accomplice in the crime.

Give emotional support to the victim. Hear out, show that you care how he or she feels.

Encourage to seek professional help.

Coach. Behaviour after finding out about bullying should be described in the internal rules of every sports organization. If such rules do not exist or are unclear, note several things.

Every incident or notification needs to be taken seriously.

Have out the situation by asking questions: who and when harassed, where the incident or incidents took place, who said or did what, what damage was done. Write down the information collected.

Talk with harassers, victims, and witnesses separately.

When talking with abusers, explain the situation in such a way that they understand the consequences of their behaviour.

Require that the belongings are returned and harm is compensated.

If you see that the conflict is too complex and you lack knowledge and experience to deal with it, consult professionals.

Pass on the collected information about ongoing bullying to the organization’s management.

If you have doubts as to whether the behaviour violates the law, seek advice from legal professionals.

Encourage victims to contact health care professionals and law enforcement.

When children are involved in bullying, notify their parents and discuss the situation that has occurred with them.

Do not make any exceptions to anyone. If the athlete has violated the established order, his/her behaviour must have consequences, regardless of the role or the schedule of competitions.

If the notification proved to be wrong, avoid criticizing, scolding. It is better to thank the athlete for caring about clean sport and to explain what bullying is.

It is the coach who determines how athletes must treat each other. He must therefore make it very clear and demonstrate by his behaviour that he will not tolerate bullying athletes and that the relationships will be based solely on mutual respect and understanding. It is also important to explain the negative effect of bullying on the athletes themselves and the whole team or group and to encourage victims or witnesses to report all incidents.

A frequent mistake should not be made when conflict resolution is entrusted to the team captain or one of the team members. Athletes are not conflict management experts. In addition, they can initiate or support the bullying process themselves, for example, if they want to eliminate a competitor.

Community members. Bullying occurs not only during workouts and competitions but also on the way to them, outside the sports organization. Research shows that the organization’s employees, volunteers, and other persons can make a significant contribution not only to stopping bullying but also to its prevention. Therefore, having noticed bullying, be proactive and try to stop it, if necessary, call for help. Memorise or write down the circumstances of the incident, find out the participants’ names. If the victim does not dare to report the incident to the coach or administration, escort him or her and testify to what has happened. If the victim is still afraid to inform about bullying, report it yourself. You can find the notification form by selecting and clicking on the submenu item “Notification form” in the menu of this website.

Administration. Read more in the “Intervention” column.

Loved ones. Loved ones are parents, brothers and sisters of the bullying target, friends who can and must provide assistance to the victim. It should be remembered that regardless of the age, the person who is experiencing bullying avoids acknowledging this out loud. Shame and fear of condemnation, unfulfilled expectations encourage to keep silent. Therefore, do not rush to criticize, blame, preach how one should have behaved and how you would have behaved in such situation. You were not present in that situation.

If you are not a professional, refrain from advising on how to deal with the abuser. The best advice you can give to the victim is to report bullying to the management of the sports organization and encourage him/her to contact specialists who will provide professional help.

The person suffering from bullying feels rejected, frightened; therefore, do not complicate the situation any further. Instead, provide emotional support that the victim lacks in particular. You will provide emotional support by hearing out, showing that you understand and sincerely sympathize.

If the child is experiencing bullying, his/her parents should talk directly with the coach rather than try to have out with the abuser’s parents.

It is natural if parents stormily react to bullying but the coach should not be attacked and accused of not protecting the child. It will not do any good but will encourage the coach to defend himself and deny the fact of bullying. It is much better to ask the coach for help. It has long been known that people respond much more benevolently when they are asked to help rather than required to do so.

If the coach does not respond or bullies the athlete himself, it is necessary to contact the management of the sports organization. You can find the notification form by selecting “Notification form” in the website menu.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Help after experiencing bullying in sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/

Intervention to Bullying in Sport

Bullying intervention procedures. Bullying intervention can be equated with a medical procedure, the accuracy and precision of which determines the success of the “operation”. It is therefore important to clearly name the procedures of notification, investigation, protection of stakeholders, other procedures, and the persons responsible for them. All of it should be clearly stated both in the code of ethics and in other documents of the organization. Victims of bullying already feel intimidated; therefore, uncertainty does not add confidence that the incident will be resolved quickly, objectively and will not turn back against the very target of bullying.

Submission of the notification. The simpler the procedure and fewer intermediaries, the better. If intermediaries appear (e.g., a coach), there is a risk that the latter may not be interested in “taking out the rubbish out of their yard”. Of course, the coach must know what is going on among the athletes he/she is training, but settlement of some incidents requires special competence. In addition, incidents need to be dealt with promptly, and the emergence of intermediaries may protract this process.

It is most convenient when the organization provides one contact and offers notifiers to fill in a form, this way collecting the initial information (one of the possible notification forms can be found here).

Investigation of the notification. Both notifiers and employees responsible for decisions need to have clear deadlines for decision-making. The less defined these processes are, the longer the investigation takes place, the greater the harm to the victim of bullying is done.

Protection of participants. The person who informed about the incident must feel sure that those who have found themselves in the centre of investigation will not prosecute him or her. On the one hand, the organization should foresee sanctions for prosecution both during the investigation of the incident and after the decision has been made. On the other hand, the investigation process itself must be fully confidential, preventing leaks of information about the participants of the incident to outsiders (e.g., informing about meetings, allocating the place for them, and the like).

The requirement of confidentiality also applies to those persons who are questioned as witnesses to the incident.

Feedback. Terms and procedures for feedback on decisions taken should be clearly defined. Information is usually provided to the parties participating in the conflict, but information about the decisions should also reach the parties to the conflict in such cases when the incident is reported by any member of the community.

Appeal. Clear appeal submission procedures and deadlines not only protect the participants of the incident from harm but also increase confidence in transparency and fairness of the organization.

Consequences for the participants of bullying

The aim of intervention to bullying is not only to punish but also to help. That is, to help athletes change their attitudes to bullying and change their behaviour. Thus, organizations need to foresee assistance programs for both the target of bullying and the aggressor in advance.

Bullying negatively affects not only the direct participants of the conflict but also those who take a bystander’s position. Therefore, in addition to sanctions, the procedures of mediation, reconciliation, educational leadership, supervision, and the like should be discussed.

The choice of the procedure that will be applied depends on many circumstances, such as the stage of the conflict, how protracted it is, to what extent other members of the team, group, or community are involved. For example, mediation is beneficial only for the participants of the conflict, while educational leadership allows to involve the whole team or group. Supervision can also be useful in finding out which shortcomings in the organization have promoted incidents.

At the same time, attention should be drawn to responsibilities of partners or contractors of sports organizations. For example, some countries apply proven practice when tolerance to bullying means a lost contract to a contractor.

All this shows that bullying intervention must be carried out by highly qualified specialists, whose professional development should receive special attention. Or, in individual cases, these professionals can be outsourced.

The role of the community in bullying intervention

Various studies demonstrate that bullying is effectively stopped by the community’s ability to recognize bullying and appropriately respond to incidents. Therefore, education and training programs for better recognition and coping with bullying should encompass the widest possible sports community circle as possible.

It should be noted that during interventions, downgrading of both bullies and passive bystanders should be avoided because the main aim is to build a dialogue, social integration and strengthen norms of respect and dignity.

This text discusses only some aspects of bullying intervention. For more information and help, contact the author of this text, Jolita Vveinhardt, e-mail address: info@mobingas.lt.

To cite:
Vveinhardt, J. (2022). Intervention to Bullying in Sport. Available at: https://www.mobingas.lt/en/about-bullying-in-sport/.

This project has received funding from European Social Fund (project No  09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-0190) under grant agreement with the Research Council of Lithuania (LMTLT)