30th August, 2010
Former Chief Athletics Coach of the National Sports Council (NSC), Dr. Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, has urged the Ministries of Education, Youth and Sports to institute a committee of enquiry into the alleged sexual harassment of female athletes by some coaches.
Such a committee, should among other things, invite past and present athletes to submit memos on issue for documentation, he suggested.
“Itâ€
The Times in yesterdayâ€
A number of female athletes narrated how they had to abandon sports rather prematurely because of the pressure by their coaches for sexual favours.
Speaking yesterday in reaction to the Times story, Dr. Owusu-Ansah, said “there are a good number of athletics coaches doing a yeomanâ€
“Much as I donâ€
“You may contact the NSC and all the athletes who have passed through my hands and they will tell you without any fear of contradiction that I did my job immaculately well. Thatâ€
Dr. Owusu-Ansah, who has held several top positions in the national sports hierarchy, mentioned former national and African champions such as Margaret Simpson, Mary Manu, Mary Mensah and Emelia Blavo as female athletes who were under his tutelage.
“I used my position to help develop these ladies in their formative years and after having worked for more than 30 years at the NSC, no one can come from anywhere to point any accusing finger at me,†the Poland-trained sports scientist declared.