Katherine Starr - Sports Sexual Abuse & Title IX Expert Witness
Katherine Starr
Katherine is a two-time Olympian 1984 and 1988. She is dedicated to fostering safe, abuse-free, and positive environments that reinforce integrity in sports.
In 1986, she won two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games. Katherine experienced success at the collegiate level in swimming for the University of Texas, participating on three NCAA championship teams and being named 14-time All-American.
Katherine first founded Safe4Athletes in 2011 as a result of living for decades with pain and suffering from the tragic effects of coach-athlete sexual abuse. Safe4Athletes was brought to life to help other athletes who have experienced the same destructive abuse of power in the coach-athlete relationship. Safe4Athletes’ mission is to advocate for athletes that have been abused, bullied or harassed by their more powerful coach or teammate.
After a decade of working with many athletes issues, coaching concerns and expert legal case involvement my experience has lead me to understand the deeper issues plaguing athletes, coaches and administrations; Integrity. Team Athlete Integrity was create out of expertise and need in the sports community.
Katherine has acted as an advocate for athletes involved in coach-athlete sexual abuse, athlete-on-athlete sexual abuse, athlete cyber-bullying, athlete sexual hazing, as well as many forms of athletic abuse in general.
Since speaking out about abuse in sports, Katherine has developed a reputation for her expertise and eloquence on coach-athlete sexual abuse. This is evident by the rapid growth of traditional media and social media attention on the problem of coach-athlete sexual abuse since the inception of Safe4Athletes including features with ESPN (Outside the Lines), NBC Sports Radio, NPR, BBC Radio, NY Times, the Takeaway, CBS Sports Radio, Take Part Five (PIVOT Channel), Aljazeera America as well other nationally recognized media outlets in sports.
Through her work, Katherine educates lawyers/media/NGBs on the unique aspects of the power dynamic that exists in the coach-athlete relationship. Katherine has also written several articles on the topic including “Breaking Down Sexual Abuse in Sports” as well as being a contributing author to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus – Harassment and Sexual Abuse in Sport published in the British Sports Medical Journal.
Most recently Katherine has authored her memoir, Rescue Me: A Powerful Memoir by an Olympian. Read her opening chapter Pure Passion to learn more about the early days of an elite athletes career.
Katherine is available for;
- keynote talks
- public speaking engagements
- book signing or readings
- and educational seminars
All customized to meet your company or program’s needs.
