Beyond the Game: Sexual Harassment at Tournaments, Team Trips, and Athletic Events

Locker room sexual harassment is not limited to what happens inside an actual locker room. Sexual comments, unwanted touching, sexual jokes, inappropriate messages, coercion, or other misconduct can occur anywhere a team travels or gathers for athletic purposes. The fact that conduct occurs off campus does not automatically place it outside the scope of workplace or educational protections.

Athletes may spend hours traveling together on buses or airplanes before arriving at a hotel where they are expected to stay with their team. Meals, practices, meetings, competitions, and social activities may all be organized by the same group of coaches and staff. This can create an environment in which an athlete feels that refusing to participate or challenging inappropriate behavior could affect their standing on the team.

The power imbalance can become especially significant when the person accused of harassment is a coach or other authority figure. Coaches may influence playing time, scholarships, team leadership opportunities, recommendations, recruiting decisions, or an athlete’s future career. When one person controls opportunities another person needs, an athlete or employee may feel unable to object to unwanted conduct.

Team celebrations can present another potential problem. After a major victory, teams may attend dinners, parties, or other celebrations where alcohol is present. Athletes may be encouraged to socialize with teammates, coaches, sponsors, or other participants. Conduct can cross into harassment if an individual makes unwelcome sexual advances, engages in unwanted touching, makes sexually explicit comments, or uses their position to pressure another person into sexual activity.

Isolation can also affect reporting. An athlete who experiences harassment during an away tournament may not know who to contact or may worry that reporting a coach will create tension within the team. They may fear losing playing opportunities or being blamed for disrupting an important competition. These concerns can be especially strong for younger athletes, newly recruited players, or employees still establishing themselves within an organization.

One common misconception about workplace harassment is that an employer’s responsibilities stop at the doors of its physical workplace. Athletic programs demonstrate why that approach does not make sense. A university team may conduct its work across many locations, and employees may be expected to perform their responsibilities wherever the team is competing or traveling.

For employees, Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment, when the statutory requirements are satisfied. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act also provides protections against workplace harassment. For students and athletes at educational institutions, Title IX can provide additional protections against sex-based discrimination in federally funded education programs.

Whether an institution can be held responsible for misconduct that occurs away from campus depends on the circumstances. Relevant considerations can include whether the event was connected to employment or participation in an educational program, whether the alleged harasser was acting in a position of authority, whether the institution knew or should have known about the conduct, and how it responded after receiving a complaint.

If a coach sexually harasses an athlete during a tournament that the university required the team to attend, the fact that the tournament took place in another state does not automatically eliminate the university’s responsibilities. The same principle can apply to employees who experience harassment while traveling for work-related athletic events.

The institution’s response after a complaint can also be significant. A university or athletic organization may have reporting procedures, Title IX personnel, human resources departments, compliance officers, or other mechanisms for addressing allegations. Failing to investigate appropriately, discouraging an athlete from reporting, or taking adverse action against someone who raises concerns can create additional legal issues.

Athletic organizations also have a practical responsibility to make reporting procedures understandable before a trip begins. Athletes should know whether they can contact a Title IX office, human resources department, athletic compliance officer, or another designated person while traveling. Clear instructions can matter when an athlete is in an unfamiliar city and does not know whether a concern must be reported through a coach. Staff should likewise know how to respond when an athlete discloses misconduct, rather than treating the disclosure as a private team dispute or attempting to handle it informally.

For someone experiencing harassment during an athletic trip, deciding what to do next can be difficult. Athletes may be concerned about their team, scholarship, career, relationships with coaches, or future opportunities. Employees may worry about losing their position or being excluded from future athletic events. These concerns can make obtaining outside legal advice particularly valuable.

An attorney can review what happened, identify the individuals and organizations involved, and explain which laws may apply. Documentation can be particularly important. Athletes and employees should preserve relevant text messages, emails, direct messages, photographs, team communications, hotel information, travel itineraries, and other records. If harassment occurred during a particular trip, documenting the date, location, people present, and circumstances can help establish a timeline.

An attorney can help distinguish between inappropriate conduct, unlawful harassment, retaliation, and other potential claims. Not every uncomfortable interaction will satisfy the legal standard for harassment, but a pattern of conduct or a particularly serious incident may warrant further investigation. The attorney can also evaluate whether an internal complaint, administrative charge, or civil lawsuit may be appropriate.

Athletic competition may take place on a field or court, but the responsibilities of universities, teams, and athletic organizations do not necessarily end there. Away games, tournaments, recruiting trips, hotels, team dinners, celebrations, and other organized events can become extensions of the athletic workplace.

The combination of travel and isolation can make sexual harassment particularly difficult to report. Athletes may depend on coaches and staff for playing opportunities, scholarships, recommendations, or career development, while employees may depend on their organizations for continued employment. When those power dynamics are combined with unfamiliar locations and limited access to outside support, misconduct can become easier to conceal.

Locker room sexual harassment and other forms of sexual misconduct should be taken seriously wherever they occur. An athlete does not necessarily lose legal protection because harassment happens in a hotel rather than a locker room, or during a tournament rather than at the team’s home facility. The connection between the conduct and the athletic program, the relationship between the parties, and the organization’s knowledge and response can all be relevant.

Athletes and employees who experience harassment should consider preserving communications and documenting what happened, including the date, location, individuals involved, witnesses, and any response from coaches or administrators. Male athletes complain of sexual harassment as well, and stereotypes suggesting that men cannot be victims can make reporting particularly difficult. Sexual harassment protections apply based on the circumstances of the conduct, not assumptions about who can experience it.

When an athletic organization fails to respond appropriately to misconduct, legal counsel can help determine what options may be available. An attorney can evaluate the facts, preserve evidence, identify potentially responsible parties, and explain the legal protections that may apply.