Bullying, in Teen Sports and Elsewhere, Requires Parent Intervention

Bullying is harmful to both the victim and the bully, but in teen sports, one of the main causes is jealousy. If your child is a competitive athlete, the bully may be on the same team, or in a solo sport like figure skating, may be a friend. In either case, the friendship or team‐player attitude can dissolve under the powerful emotion of jealousy. And the bullying can take on a vicious aura because it is so taboo to sabotage your teammate or competition — unsportsmanlike to the nth degree — so it's not overt.