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6 Ways to Be an Active Bystander

  • April 1, 2024
  • Bullying Prevention
Athletes

Content Warning: This article contains mentions of bullying.

Many of us want to directly intervene when we see an injustice or instance of bullying, but the sad reality is that it’s not always safe to do so. However, that doesn’t mean you should do nothing.

There are many ways you can stand up for someone without jeopardizing your own well-being, and in doing so, become an active bystander. Here, TrueSport Expert Nadia Kyba, MSW, President of Now What Facilitation, explains what it means to be an active bystander and shares several of the ways that you can safely help someone in need.

 

What is an active bystander?

Being an active bystander means “being aware of when someone’s behavior is inappropriate or threatening and choosing to challenge it,” according to the University of Cambridge. The term ‘active bystander’ was coined to point out that not everyone can directly intervene in the same way in a situation, depending on their own circumstances. “For instance, it’s not always safe for a woman to intervene in a physical discrimination situation,” says Kyba.

 

Who can be an active bystander?

Teen boy comforting friend as another boy bullies him.Everyone should be an active bystander rather than a passive bystander who does nothing when injustices happen.

According to the Active Bystander program developed at the University of East Anglia, there are six ways to intervene in a situation where you see bullying or an injustice taking place. “The premise for this is that not everyone is equally able to intervene when they see something that’s wrong,” Kyba says. “Because of that, experts have assessed several different and effective ways to intervene, depending on the situation and your evaluation of your personal safety, as well as the safety of the person being bullied.”

 

Ways to Intervene

Here, we’ll use the example of your teammate in the locker room getting bullied because their food smells a certain way. A few of the other athletes on the team are using that as an opportunity to make cultural and racial jokes about the athlete. What can you do?

 

1. Nonverbal disapproval

Perhaps the simplest way to intervene in a situation like this is with nonverbal disapproval, says Kyba. Often in a team environment, the athletes who are publicly bullying another student are seeking the approval of their teammates, so the lack of approval may cause them to stop. Kyba says this means being purposeful about not joining in, or even rolling your eyes and starting another conversation with the athlete who’s being teased—anything that indicates your disapproval without directly confronting the bullies.

 

2. Distract

If you’re more of a peacekeeper or jokester on the team, you may decide to opt for a distraction. This could mean calling everyone over to you to show them a funny video on YouTube, telling a joke loudly, or even just pointing out that you all need to be ready for practice in two minutes. “Your goal is simply to distract the offenders in order to draw attention away from the person they’re teasing,” says Kyba. Often, this will work better in less fraught situations versus more serious instances of bullying.

 

3. Call it out

This is the most confrontational of the active bystander roles. In this situation, you would simply insert yourself into the conversation between the athlete eating his lunch and the athletes who are making fun of him. “You would tell the athletes to stop bullying him and call out their bad behavior,” says Kyba. Only take this route if you feel safe in the situation.

 

4. Delegate intervention

Ideally, as the active bystander, you stay present in the situation rather than exiting to get help from a trusted adult, so if there’s another athlete who also is in the locker room, you could ask them to go get the coach. While waiting for an adult to come, you can use one of the other options to distract or disapprove—or at the very least, bear witness to the incident for later reporting.

 

5. Record

In any of the aforementioned scenarios, record the situation if possible, but be safe and smart. For example, in a locker room, record a voice memo rather than trying to capture video. Keep in mind that obviously recording the incident is going to have the same impact as calling out the bad behavior, so if you’re trying to film the incident and there’s no way to do so without the offenders noticing, be aware that you could be compromising your own safety as well.

After the situation has concluded (in this case, the athletes have all gone back to practice), don’t pass the recording along to anyone other than the harassed athlete unless they explicitly give you permission to do so. If they don’t want the recording shared, you can still verbally tell the coach or another trusted adult what happened.

 

6. Offer support after the fact

While it’s better to do something in the moment whenever possible, it’s also the role of an active bystander to check on the person being bullied after the situation has concluded, says Kyba. Ask your teammate if they’re okay, and if an adult hasn’t been informed about the incident, offer to help them speak to the coach. Always ask your teammate what support they need from you, and do your best to give support in that form.

___________________________________

Takeaway

When you see a teammate (or anyone) facing an injustice, being discriminated against, or being bullied, there are many ways that you can advocate for them. Depending on your level of comfort in the situation, you can distract the bully, nonverbally communicate your disapproval, directly intervene, go seek help in the form of a coach or other adult, record the situation so that it can be addressed later, or offer your support to the person being bullied after the fact.

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Goal-Setting Lesson Video Transcript

Hi. I’m Trevon, Trey, Jennifer. Team USA wheelchair basketball player, paralympian, and true sport athlete. Today, I want to talk to you about goal setting. And there are three things that I would like you to know. First, successful athletes set goals and a planned roadmap. Second, goals should be written down, assessed over time, and changed if necessary. And third, goals need to be challenging in order to be worthwhile. As a freshmen at Edinboro University, I was a part of a team that made the national championship game. And at that time I recognized I was the low man on the totem pole, but I felt in my heart that I knew my dreams were so much bigger than winning a national title. I wanted to make Team USA. I knew what achieving my lofty goal was not going to be easy and that I would need to work hard every day.

So, as a reminder, I created a pyramid of goals that I kept right above my bed. This pyramid reminded me of the accomplishments that I was working towards and visually represented my need to create a solid foundation underneath me before reaching the top. In the bottom roll of my pyramid of goals I listed goals such as obtaining my bachelor’s degree, becoming a scholar athlete award recipient, and becoming an All-American. The middle row listed winning a national title and playing for a professional team. And at the top row, the most challenging of them all, I listed becoming a gold medalist for Team USA.

By understanding that there are smaller stepping stones to achieving my ultimate goal of being on Team USA, I was able to stay motivated and to stay focused on completing the smaller stepping stones fully before moving onto the next one. Now I’ll be the first to admit that not every goal that I listed on my pyramid was accomplished, but seeing my goals every day when I went to bed, I was able to push through the days that I felt like doing nothing in hopes of achieving the bigger picture. Remember, create a clear goal roadmap, assess your goals often, and continue to challenge yourself. I hope that you never stopped dreaming big or reaching for the stars. And I look forward to seeing where your roadmap takes you.

Body Image Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Kara Winger, Olympic javelin thrower, and true sport athlete. Today I want to talk to you about body image and I have three things I’d like you to know. First, healthy thoughts often lead to healthier bodies. Second, there are varying body types and no one’s body is exactly like another. And third, true beauty goes deeper than the skin. As a multi-time Olympian, I’ve experienced a lot of variation and progression in my training. My coaches and I adapt to my training frequently, all with the goal of supporting my long-term success and health in the sport of javelin. I’m talking to you about body image today because sometimes even with the best of intentions and a common goal in mind, the changes you make to your training habits can prove to be detrimental if made for the wrong reasons. In the lead up to the 2012 Olympic trials, I was told in order to improve my performance on the field, I should try to become a leaner, skinnier version of myself.

So I changed my diet. I went along with what I was being told to do, even though I’d had great success at a slightly heavier weight and higher body fat percentage, and became much leaner than ever before. It seemed like a successful change at first, but I didn’t have nearly the results I’d had before. And I believe becoming leaner than my body naturally wanted to be was what caused my ACL to tear. In the end, it cost me heavily going into the 2012 London games. The takeaway for me, and hopefully for you, is that it’s important to know what works for you and your body and to not compare yourself to others. You should do your research and experiment with your diet to find what makes you feel the best, rather than focusing on what you look like. Today, if I feel like having a chocolate chip cookie, I have one, just not every day.

I’ve learned what a properly balanced meal for my body looks like and I recognize food as the fuel that keeps me throwing. I hydrate and allow myself time to recover. And I listen to and communicate with my body so that I can be the best version of myself. In the end, you are in control of how you see, treat, and respond to your body. We only get one and it’s amazing to discover how many things our bodies can do. Be a true sport athlete. Love who you are in this moment and get excited for all the places your body will take you.

A Good Sport Lesson Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Izy Isaksen, Team USA, Modern Pentathlon, Olympian, US Army Sergeant, and True Sport Ambassador. Today, I want to talk to you about being a good sport. There are three things I’d like you to know. First, real winners act the same toward their opponent, whether they win or lose. Second, follow the rules and be a gracious winner and respectful loser. And third, sportsmanship reveals your true character.

I started competing in Modern Pentathlon eight years after my older sister and three-time Olympian, Margaux Isaksen, began competing. I soon realized that people often compared the two of us. I would overhear spectators and teammates asking, “Who’s the better athlete,” and “Who’s going to beat the other.” Instead of letting outside pressures create a negative experience for us, I chose to practice winning and losing with grace and respect. I know that it would have been easy to let our hyper competitive mindset affect our relationship, but instead we decided to support and cheer for each other, regardless of our own performance. My experience of competing against and being compared to my older sister, taught me to focus on how to perform at my best, rather than putting wasted energy into wishing for others to fail.

I believe that sportsmanship reveals true character. So, no matter what situation I encounter during competition, I know it’s important to always treat people with respect and be a good sport. Remember, be a fierce competitor, find grace in all your victories and losses. And I hope to see you out there.

What Kind of Coach Do You Want to Be? Video Transcript

Edwin Moses: You’re a coach. Maybe what you want is very simple, for everyone to just run in the right direction, score for their own team, to try and try again and again. Maybe you want your athletes to become all stars. You want them to earn trophies, medals, win titles. You want them to reach the highest height their sport allows. And wanting all of that, of course, that’s good. But as every great coach discovers, developing a great athlete means nurturing, nurturing the even greater person within. Truth is, you have even more influence than you know.

You have the ability to affect even deeper change, to take what’s in your hands and do something even more extraordinary. You can be both the coach who provides the skills needed to win the game and the coach who helps them learn and succeed beyond the sport, to become all stars wherever they land in the future, and to enjoy their lives more now, because the confidence and courage they find working with you will stay with them when they need it the most. There are games to be won, lives to change. Coaches have the power to do both.

I’m Edwin Moses, and the lessons I’ve learned through sport have challenged me, guided me, and shaped my life forever. What kind of coach do you want to be?

THE SIMPLE TRUTH: DECODING THE SUPPLEMENT INDUSTRY VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

At first glance, dietary supplements look the same. They seem safe and healthy, but just because the label says a product is a dietary supplement, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Unfortunately, you can’t tell whether a product is safe or not just by looking at the label. Most vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other supplements containing nutrients are probably just fine, but supplements are not evaluated or approved by FDA before they are sold. Although it is rare for vitamins or minerals to be contaminated with drugs, there has been at least one case of a vitamin containing an anabolic steroid.

At the other extreme are products that contain drugs, stimulants, anabolic steroids, or other hormones. Even though these are not technically dietary supplements, many of them are labeled as supplements. For example, body-building products sometimes contain anabolic steroids or Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators, known as SARMs, or other hormones. Some pre-workout or energy products contain illegal stimulants like DMAA, ephedra, or other amphetamine-like stimulants. Weight loss products might contain prescription drugs like sibutramine, or hormones, like human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as hCG. All natural or herbal sexual enhancement products might contain hormones or Viagra-like drugs. Products like these can harm your health and career, but they’re for sale online, in some nutrition stores, and they’re labeled as dietary supplements.

When you pick up a supplement, especially one that promises performance enhancement, you don’t know if it belongs in the “Mostly O.K.” pile or in the “Dangerous” pile. After all, two products might look the same, but one might contain just amino acids and other legitimate ingredients, while the other also contains anabolic steroids. Because of this, FDA has issued a warning about certain categories of supplements: body building products, weight loss products, and sexual enhancement products. Be extremely careful when considering a supplement in one of these categories. We strongly recommend that you avoid products in these categories.

Even when FDA tests supplements and finds dangerous ingredients, companies sometimes refuse to recall them. Sometimes, they simply repackage their product and continue selling it under a new name. Just because a product is on a store shelf doesn’t mean it is safe. You need to do your research and be an informed consumer. The dietary supplement industry is enormous. Supplements that appear to be safe could actually be dangerous products in disguise. If you use dietary supplements without doing your research, you may be taking serious risks with your health and your career. Please visit USADA’s Supplement 411 for more information about dietary supplements.