A good thing that might have come out of the abuse scandal in US gymnastics is that it might have given many more athletes in different countries courage to talk about the abuse they experienced.
This week it became known that around 40 Brazilian male gymnasts came forward with abuse allegations against Fernando de Carvalho Lopes, an ex-national team coach. The coach was fired from the national team in 2016 after being accused of sexual abuse of a young gymnast but at the time it wasn’t known that many gymnasts were abused.
Here’s is a translation of an article from O Globo on the issue. The translation was done by Clara Silva.
It’s been almost two years since artistic gymnastics’ coach Fernando de Carvalho Lopes was fired from Brazil’s gymnastics coaching following allegations of sexual abuse by the parents of a boy trained by the coach. On Sunday, a report by Fantástico (a popular Sunday news show), revealed this boy was not the only one who suffered abuse. Some current and former athletes had the courage to speak up. Forty people claimed to have been abused and ten took the case to court. The state of São Paulo Prosecution Office is investigating.
They all claim the coach took advantage of their young age and lack of knowledge about training procedures to touch them constantly. The only one who talked about it openly was Petrix Barbosa, a team gold medalist at the Pan-American games of 2011, who shared his story for the first time. He is one of many athletes trained by Carvalho Lopes. The coach has been working at the developmental level for 20 years at Mesc Club in the city of São Bernardo do Campo. He coached only male athletes.
— Fernando was my first coach, Mesc was the first club I attended, it’s where I started gymnastics — says Petrix, who hasn’t forgotten about the worst experiences during the time he was there. — It was so much psychological pressure for a young kid, about 10 or 11 years old… We would shower together, he watched us… I’ve woken up to find him with his hands inside my pants countless times.
Today, Petrix trains in the US. From age 6 to 13 he trained at Mesc, under Carvalho Lopes. He left because he couldn’t bear the abuse anymore. They happened at the bathroom, during training, and even outside the gym. However, Petrix was scared and embarrassed to tell his family about what was going on.
— He would often ask us about our body development. He needed to track our growth in order to plan our training. And he would ask us to show our penises — told the gymnast, who got very emotional. — I’ve always tried to protect my family. I didn’t want them to know how much he tried to get close to us, to touch us… I would never want to disappoint them or to worry them.
In four months the reporters heard from more than 80 people, among athletes, family members, and managers. The stories are similar.
— He would ask me to masturbate and ejaculate in front of him — said an athlete who asked not to be identified.
The parents who were the first to report the abuse, just before the 2016 Olympics, were among the people interviewed by Fantástico. The boy, then 13 years old, told his parents everything. He trained at Mesc since he was 9.
They said Fernando de Carvalho Lopes touched their son’s genitals.
— He groped him. All the time his hands would touch the boy’s bottoms — said the father, who also asked to not be identified.
Afterward, the boy gave up on the sport.
— He was super talented. He could have been really good. But it was cut short… His dream was cut short — his mother said.
The victims, some that were abused over 10 years ago, claim that other coaches and people responsible for the club knew about the allegations. One of the athletes said he told the club’s psychologist, Thais Coppini, that he was being abused. But nothing changed.
— You’d think: “is she here to help me or help him?” Because she would always protect him.
The psychologist says she never heard of any sexual abuse or sexual harassment accusations.
The City of São Bernardo’s gymnastics supervisor — Mesc is a private club but it receives funds from city hall, — Ivonete Fagundes said she never suspected any misconduct from the coach. But she states she heard the boys joke about the subject.
— They would call him a pedophile, but I never paid attention to it. They would say it and laugh about it.
Some athletes changed clubs in 2005. They went to São Caetano do Sul, where Marcos Goto was one of the coaches. Goto is the coach of Arthur Zanetti and the National Team coordinator. The gymnasts say he would joke about the assault.
— He knew about everything. He would make fun of us: “You can’t do pull-ups here. Let me take you into the sauna to see if you can do it.”
The coach refused to comment. The Brazilian Gymnastics Confederation claims that they never knew about these allegations and that it would have contacted authorities if they had known. The Brazilian Olympic Committee states that it doesn’t accept any kind of abuse or discrimination.
Carvalho Lopes denied the accusations.
— I think my problem was that I confused things, I thought I was more than a coach. Maybe people interpreted it the wrong way. My conscience is clear: I never raped anyone, I never molested anyone, nothing like what is being said.
Photo: Globo
