As with all other forms of abuse, financial abuse is centered on gaining power and control of another person.

Financial abuse can make it difficult to leave an abusive relationship because of its immediate impact on someone’s finances or because of the impacts leaving could have on their future financial opportunities and it can still exist even if the abuser does not have direct access to the other person’s bank account.

Financial abuse within sports and athletic staff-athlete relationships can look different than what may typically be expected. Along with attempting to control an athlete’s finances, athletic staff can use financial abuse as a way to gain loyalty and to make an athlete feel that they are “special” through scholarship, stipend, assistance with NLI (name, image, & likeness), and more.

While the feeling of being special can be great and well-meaning, it can also serve as a way to make the athlete accept different treatment than what they see in other coach-athlete relationships.

If an athletic-staff person has shown that they value you more than others, it can make it much harder to say no because you may feel that you “owe” your them and need to prove that you were worth the investment. It can also make it harder to see their abuse because they have been “so generous” towards you.

Financial abuse can be both trapping and a vail for abuse that is occurring.