ED Expel school violence

Olympic medals no longer enhance national prestige

Allegations of school violence involving professional volleyball players have shaken the world of sports. On Monday, the Korean Volleyball Association indefinitely banned Lee Jae-young and Lee Da-young, the star twins of the Heungkuk Life Insurance Pink Spiders, from the national volleyball team. The Pink Spiders also indefinitely suspended the two, stating, “School violence is something that should never happen..”

The bullying scandal came to light Feb. 10 when a former teammate of the twins in middle school complained online about being bullied. The post listed 21 allegations including the theft of money and threats with a knife against a teammate. The accusations prompted a national uproar, causing a petition to be posted on the presidential website demanding an investigation into the allegations. Later, the twins offered an apology.

The revelation against the twins has provoked additional bullying allegations against two male volleyball players ― Song Myung-geun and Sim Kyoung-sup of the OK Financial Group Okman team. The two athletes issued apologies, but were barred from the national team, too. Given that school bullying has been a serious social problem here, more revelations involving sports stars and other celebrities are expected to emerge.

On Tuesday, the Korean Volleyball Federation (KOVO) announced that it will slap a lifetime ban from the professional league on athletes with a history of school violence. Specifically, those who enter rookie drafts must submit written pledges that they have not engaged in any bullying behavior. Hopefully, this regulation will end up restraining young athletes from using violence while in school.

It's no secret that the root cause of bullying in sports is the widespread notion that winning is everything. However, the public has become sensitive to violence and no longer believes that Olympic medals will enhance the national prestige. On this occasion, it's imperative to expel violence from our sports community once and for all. Also, it might be necessary to oblige athletes with a history of school violence to report this voluntarily.