*This content was translated by AI.
In the domestic sports community, the issue of violence in the sports department is a very old chronic problem. There is violence between students, but violence between leaders and students also has a very long history. Although there is a trend that has disappeared a lot over the past five years, it is evaluated that there is still a long way to go. However, experts say that it is clearly improving from the past and has entered a 'transitional' stage.
Violence in the sports community has become a problem not only in Korea but also in Japan. In 2025 alone, two teams in the Japanese professional football (J League) were involved in "workplace bullying." In Japan, 'workplace harassment' is called 'Power Harassment'. This means that a person of superior position or authority harasses his subordinates or colleagues. It has become a social problem, and Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been implementing the Prevention Act since 2020.
Kochi United, a third-division coach, and Machida Zelvia, a first-division coach, were embroiled in allegations that they verbally abused, insulted and gaslighted the players side by side. In all of these cases, the coach, who has the authority to appoint players, insulted players and coaches and verbally abused them in public. There were also stories that the coaches did such a thing for the team's performance, but they didn't gain any convincing.
In the end, Akita Yutaka (56), the coach of Kochi United, voluntarily resigned to take responsibility for all the incidents. Kuroda High School (56), coach Machida Zelvia, also refuted the allegations, but was reprimanded as a result of the investigation.
The Machida club issued a statement in the form of a report on December 23 last year, saying, "We deeply apologize to the fans and all other officials. The club, which has failed to create an appropriate management system, feels heavy responsibility. In the future, I will repay you with sincere actions to restore the lost trust. Once again, I apologize deeply," he bowed his head. Public opinion was also infested within Japan because it is a 'workplace harassment' issue that is becoming a social problem around the world.
If you look at the case of Japan, there is one thing in common. The point is that the issue is 'shush' and does not try to conceal it, but formally raises the issue and discloses it explicitly. In both cases, the league secretariat actively intervened and supervised. Of course, in order to prevent secondary harm, the victims' personal information was not disclosed. The intention was to prevent recurrence and alert people through the process of publicizing the case.
The Machida club also announced all the details of the issues raised on the club's website and detailed the reason and legal basis for Kuroda's reprimand. The atmosphere is somewhat different from the case of Shin Tae-yong (56), who resigned from Ulsan HD in the domestic K-League.
However, changes are clearly being detected in the domestic sports community. First of all, the leaders' minds have changed. A former professional basketball player commentator told Star News on the phone, "In the past, I was even called and beaten by the coach during the game. At that time, I believed that players also grew through those processes. However, it is impressive to see elite athletic leaders explicitly give directions to players now. Even if a player makes a mistake, he does not get angry and instructs in soft words. It's really changed a lot," he said.
Another official also told Star News, "An atmosphere should be formed to disclose violence in the sports world in detail like Japan. The zero tolerance principle will certainly work to some extent, but there is also room for unfair victims due to punishment, he said. "It is difficult to consider that the Park Jun-hyun situation in professional baseball has also been publicized easily and lucklessly." There is certainly an atmosphere in the domestic sports community that regards whistleblowers as "villains" who cause controversy. Obviously, it is in a transitional period, but the more certain measures should be presented. If not, similar situations could come back at any time, he stressed.
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*This content was translated by AI.
