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September 29, 2005
Top NFL Player Reveals Childhood Sexual Abuse
Laveranues Coles, star National Football League wide receiver, revealed he had been sexually abused between the ages of 10 and 13. The story was told in a New York Times article Sept. 18, 2005.
Explaining his motivation for his public revelation, Coles said, “Some kids do look up to us. Maybe if I say something, they’ll feel stroong enough to say, ‘I can say something now because it happened to him.’ Even if it’s one kid I can touch, who my story gives him the strength to come out and say something, I feel like it’s worth it.”
His abuser was a man who later married his mother and was eventually jailed for the abuse. After Coles got into a fight at school when he was called gay, the police interviewed him and extracted the information about the abuse. Coles explained, “…you do kind of blame yourself…you feel like it’s your fault.”
Coles said that to endure the abuse was devastating. “My trust level for people just left. It just kind of destroyed my relationships, with allowing new people into my life.”
Recent accdeptance and success has helped him regain his trust to the point where he could publicly reveal his story.
Related Links:
PRO FOOTBALL; New Trust Lets Coles Share Secret, New York Times, September 18, 2005, Section 8, Page 1 (Requires Fee to Read)
Laveranues Coles at NFL.com
Posted by admin at September 29, 2005 08:34 AM