Sports' Darkest Secrets Will Continue to be Revealed

“I’ve held one of Boston’s darkest secrets all these years.”

These are the words of Charles Crawford who is accusing former Red Sox clubhouse manager Donald Fitzpatrick of sexual abuse.

Crawford recently came public with his statement recalling an incident in 1991 when Crawford was a 16 year old Red Sox clubhouse attendant. Crawford and another former attendant are suing the Red Sox for $5 million each for damages. This is not the first accusation against Fitzpatrick who died in 2005 at the age of 76.

Crawford and his friend are the ninth and 10th former Sox clubhouse attendants - and the first from Boston - to publicly accuse Fitzpatrick of sexual abuse. In 2003, the team settled a $3.15 million lawsuit with seven Florida men who alleged Fitzpatrick molested them during spring training beginning in the early 1970s. Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty in 2002 in Florida to four counts of attempted sexual battery related to the case.

Crawford said he was encouraged by Senator Scott Brown’s recent revelation of sexual molestation while a camper at a Cape Cod summer camp.

It is not unusual for a man to hold “dark secrets” of childhood sexual molestation for many years. I am reminded of the time I was participating in a protest march to Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross a few years ago. I was walking with my St. Louis friend David Clohessy who is the Executive Director of the Survivor’s Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP). At the time, I was the Communications Director for Voice of the Faithful (VOTF) and we had a lot of business to discuss. Suddenly, he left me and ran up to the front of the line to walk with a middle-aged man whom I didn’t recognize. At the end of the march, David explained that this man (who was walking with his nine year old son) had recently “come out of the closet” and disclosed that as a young boy he had been sexualy abused by a priest. It was the first time that he had publically discussed this with anyone, even his wife. This is not unusual as we see from the case of Crawford, Scott Brown and so many others. 

The new allegations widen the sexual abuse scandal in sports in the wake of accusations against former coaches Jerry Sandusky at Penn State, Bernie Fine at Syracuse, and Bob Hewitt in professional tennis. Expect it to continue. I predict that this is just the tip of the iceberg. More and more of those abused will start revealing their “darkest secrets” as the news reports build up.

Congratulations to Crawford, Scott Brown and others who have mustered up the courage to come forward. I hope that the public will begin to realize the magnitude of this “hidden problem” in our society and will not continue to “double victimize” the survivors.