Author: RebWithaCause

For the last 4 years I have been bullied in my netball team. Some years weren’t as bad as others, and some years I have completely avoided the negative situations, so I didn’t get my feelings hurt. I decided 2019 was going to be the year that I wasn’t going to let it happen anymore. If you are wondering why I didn’t speak up to anyone, or confront the problems head on, to be honest, I was worried that no one would believe me or care about the situation. Bullying has many definitions and presents itself in many forms. I’ve only been a victim of verbal bullying, which ranged in exclusion, intimidation, and being put down, but many people aren’t as ‘lucky’ as me, and experience things much worse. In this story, I won’t be using any real names or places, and have only included the situation as it played out, so here it goes. This is my story. Jacinta and Pamela were two athletes of a competitive sporting team that I was also a member of. We were on one of our away trips, for said sporting team, when it all began. It had become apparent that I was always the teammate getting into trouble (mostly due to wrong timing). At the beginning of the trip, in the elevator with Jacinta and Pamela, I was confronted with my first experience of bullying. They both looked at me and said, “If you misbehave in any way we will kick you off the team, so we suggest you just be quiet for the whole weekend”. I was terrified. The next year at another away trip, I had to share with a different group of people. To avoid drama I chose to sleep in the bedroom with two single beds. Five minutes later Emma walked into the room and took the mattress off the other bed in the room and dragged it out into the lounge-room. I was shocked and upset. I started unpacking my clothes when Jacinta came into my room and closed the door to exclude me from the group. OUCH!! After dinner we all went back to our rooms and as I was lying in bed Jacinta came into my room, sat on the side of my bed, and said, “Don’t worry if you don’t get any court time tomorrow, because you are not a good player”. You’d think I’d be sick of this by now. The next year I decided to avoid Pamela as we were having a few differences and I wasn’t getting along with her, however, ignoring her only made the situation worse. She also decided to tell me that I wasn’t “allowed” near her during the game, as if she was in charge of it!! I still did nothing or said nothing about these situations. The following year I wanted to avoid all the drama and bullying, so I requested that I be put in a room without the said team members. That year was great because I wasn’t involved in any confrontational situations or belittled in any way. For the most recent year’s trial, I stayed at a so-called friends place because I had recently moved away with my family. My friend was also a member of the team, and as it turned out, Jacinta was going to be there. When I arrived at my friends house, Jacinta decided that it was appropriate to continuously tell me that I wouldn’t get into the team and that I was not good enough to be in the team. During the trial all I could hear through my head were the words that Jacinta had said to me and I completely lost concentration, totally putting me off my game, and making me upset. The end result was me losing my place in the team 😦 From the people I asked on social media, 60% said they had been bullied by people in their own team at one point in their sporting career, and 50% of people said they had been bullied or sledged from people on opposing teams. It is quite shocking to discover that maybe there isn’t such a great team environment amongst team sports. It also made me think of how the people that I look up to deal with situations like these and if they are ever in situations like this….? I was also amazed to learn that an estimated 17% of athletes practice or participate in bullying at some point in their sporting life. The bottom line, in my opinion, is why do people even bully in the first place? Is it simply due to their own lack of self-esteem or lack of gratification? Does it make them feel better about themselves, and do they get what they want when they bully others? If this is happening to you, don’t stand for it. Do everything in your power (excluding violence) to make it stop. Tell your teammates, tell your coaches, tell your friends, tell your family. Tell anyone!!!! Just remember, bullying someone could be the reason they decide to take their own life. If this article raised any concerns with yourself or anyone you know, don’t hesitate to reach out to any of the many support services available, such as Lifeline 13 11 14 and/or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636, just to name a couple. ***Names have been changed to protect peoples identity.