Broken Trust

Synopsis

Broken Trust takes an unflinching look at the secret world of sexual and emotional abuse experienced by athletes. Moving beyond attention-grabbing headlines, the film draws on courageous first-hand testimonies from Olympic and national-class athletes and coaches to reveal how victims in the sports world are often isolated and ostracized for speaking out, how parents are pressured to keep silent when confronted by abusive coaches, and how more and more athletes are fighting back to change the system. Broken Trust is a powerful tool for critically examining the systemic and social forces that contribute to the culture of abuse in sports and beyond.

Featuring interviews with Jessica Armstrong, Katelyn Ohashi, Craig Maurizi, Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Eva Rondansky, John Hoberman, and Pam Boteler.

Includes two versions: the original version and an abridged version intended for younger audiences which has been edited for language.

Release Date:2020

Duration:31 min

ISBN: 978-1-944024-19-2

Subtitles:English

Trailers

Watch the trailer

Filmmaker Credits

Director and Producer:

Jill Yesko

Associate Producer:

Carrie Sheinberg

Advisor/Cameras:

Richard Chisolm

Editor:

Daniel Helfer

Filmmaker Biographies

Jill Yesko

Director and Producer

Filmmaker and journalist Jill Yesko is a former cyclist who represented the United States in the 1983 World University Games and competed in the Olympic Trials. Her acclaimed documentary Tainted Blood: The Untold Story of the 1984 Olympic Blood Doping Scandal has been screened in the U.S., Europe and Africa and streams on Amazon. Jill has produced and directed commercials and short videos. Her writing has appeared in Women’s Sports & Fitness, Shape, Fitness Swimmer, the Baltimore Sunand other magazines. Jill is the author of two acclaimed crime fiction novels: Murder in the Dog Park and Dog Spelled Backwards. She has been profiled in O, the Oprah magazine and is a frequent commentator on NPR. Jill is a Fellow in the Center for Sports Communications & Media at the University of Texas at Austin.

Conference Screenings

Safe Sport International Conference 2021

Resources: Downloads and Related Links

Downloads:

Praise

“The sexual and emotional abuse of athletes is a difficult, painful topic— one many would prefer to avoid. Through her documentary Broken Trust: Athlete Abuse Exposed, Jill Yesko offers an entry point and invaluable educational tool for parents, gym owners, school administrators and athletes themselves. Couched in a love of sports, the film is honest, illuminating and in no way exploitative. I commend it highly to all who care about athletes’ well-being.”

—Liz Clarke
Washington Post sportswriter

“Broken Trust demonstrates why youth sports presents integral challenges to the protection of children. This documentary makes it clear why athletics is an open frontier in the investigation into child sexual abuse."

—Marci Hamilton
CEO and Academic Director at CHILD USA, Fox Family Pavilion Distinguished Scholar at University of Pennsylvania

“Broken Trust is a timely intervention in the ongoing conversation about the abuse of elite athletes. Jill Yesko’s film centers the experiences and voices of those abused by their coaches, and encourages viewers to challenge the convergence of sports media and athletic governing bodies that prioritize winning at the expense of athletes’ health.”

—Michael Butterworth
Director of the Center for Sports Communication and Media, University of Texas at Austin

“This film provides much needed and long overdue exposure to the incompetence and criminal negligence of American sports executives who covered up the sexual abuse of young athletes for decades. Today some of these people are finally being removed from their positions of power. As the director of “Tainted Blood: The Untold Story of the 1984 Blood Doping Scandal” (2017), Jill Yesko brings impeccable credentials to her second exposé of the ethical crises that continue to afflict the world of modern sports.”

—John Hoberman
Professor of Germanic Studies, University of Texas at Austin

"Jill Yesko’s important film puts a much-needed spotlight on an issue that for too long was hidden from view. This film will help spur the kind of conversations that lead to action—and hopefully greater accountability—for abuse in sport."

—Dionne Koller, JD
Sports Law Professor and Director, University of Baltimore Center for Sport and the Law

"Broken Trust is an honest depiction of survivors’ experiences and illuminates how sexual violence takes place within sports. This film begins necessary conversations on how we can prevent sexual violence in sports.”

—David Lee
Director of Prevention, RALIANCE

"Broken Trust is a vitally important layer of truth that we all need to hear to truly understand the depths of abuse in the world of sport. What has been reported thus far is obviously only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. With each truth that is courageously shared there are thousands of truths yet to be told. Hopefully, documentaries like Broken Trust will not only serve to liberate the victims by sharing their stories but will also aid parents and children in understanding when a coach's “care” is actually grooming and abuse."

—Valorie Kondos Field (aka Miss Val)
American collegiate gymnastics coach

"I would recommend that anyone who is involved in sport or similar youth activities watches this documentary. The survivors’ stories clearly demonstrate the impact that child abuse often has on people right into adulthood. The cases discussed reflect many that have come to light in recent times across the world and although the UK sport sector has made great strides to introduce safeguards and procedures to respond to concerns, it would be foolish to assume this isn’t still happening. It is inspiring to hear from survivors about what needs to happen to prevent future abuse and we have a responsibility to listen to them. As they say so powerfully – safeguarding should be taken as seriously as anti-doping in sport."

— Child Protection in Sport Unit, NSPCC

"Broken Trust is a hard-to-watch, must-watch for sports journalists and all human beings who care about the health and well-being of young athletes. This film lets predatory coaches know their game is over."

— Nicholas McBride, Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Massachusetts Amherst

"Hearing the resilient voices of sexual abuse survivors from the sports world is a profound experience. This is an excellent film for instruction on grooming strategies used by sexual predators, and the sports institutions that have colluded to minimize these sex crimes. Must be seen."

— Dr. Ramona Alaggia, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto

"A keen and insightful look into the systemic failures that enable athlete sexual abuse in coaching culture. Broken Trust continues the work of holding individuals and institutions accountable for cultures of silence in sport. A must-watch for anyone interested in institutional culture and how administrative violence enables sexual violence in the world of sport."

— Dr. Elena Ruíz, Principal Researcher for the #MeToo movement and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University

"Succinct, diverse, and substantive. It covers a range of athletics and the sexual abuse experienced by girls and boys by their coaches. It should be seen by every student, parent, coach, administrator, law enforcement person, health care professional, and legal professional whose effort and awareness is needed to end this kind of exploitation and harm to protect our children and adolescents entrusted to sports activities. It will take everyone being informed and willing to act to stop sexual and psychological abuse in youth sports."

— David L. Corwin, MD
Founder of the California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC)

"As a co-founder for the US Center for Safe Sport, a consultant to the Obama-Biden Task Force on sexual assault, and co-founder of the Association of Title IX Administrators, I can say that Broken Trust is a must see for every parent and athlete in sports, regardless of age. It is exactly what we need to acknowledge has happened in sport and went ignored for far too long. This is why the US CSS exists today, 40 years too late."

— Dr. W. Scott Lewis
Co-founder of the US Center for Safe Sport

Press Reviews

Interview with NPR-affiliate WYPR