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Crucially, the report notes that even now “it is not immediately evident to whom a report of misconduct is to be sent or what happens to that report.”

It goes on to say that if there are complaints, it’s not clear how the Whitecaps would investigate or address them. It’s also not evident to athletes and others in the organization that if they do complain, they will not face reprisals or some detrimental blowback.

It would be bad enough if only the safety of adult professionals was at stake. But the organization runs mixed-gender and mixed-aged training camps including residency programs for kids under 15.

It’s the past that is the focus of the report and among the most disturbing sections is the 2017 case of a 15-year-old boy in the Whitecaps residency program, who was sexually assaulted by teammates in the locker-room.

It was 48 hours before police were notified. During that time, the boy’s mother has said that Whitecaps staff advised her not to contact police.

But the report says, “Staff were consistent in their recollection that at no time was the victim’s family advised not to contact police.” What they recalled is that they discussed the pros and cons of reporting to police.

But what is truly chilling is that the report describes the Whitecap’s response as “understandable and not uncommon among sport organizations.”

If that is true, it should scare the hell out of every parent whose kids are in sports, especially since its been proven over and over that sporting bodies often take their own reputation into account ahead of concern for the athletes.