YOUTH and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh must get to the bottom of an incident whereby a volleyball coach has slapped two of his teenaged female players during a competitive match.
According to The Vibes which broke the story, the incident happened at the 2022 Malaysia Youth U14 Volleyball Championship in Johor on Dec 16 during the third- and fourth-placing match for the girls’ category which saw Melaka taking on Johor at SJK (C) Pei Hwa in Johor.
During a time-out when Melaka were trailing Johor 11-16 in the first set, the Melaka team coach was seen slapping two of his players, both aged under 14.
The tweet by Yeoh who has gotten her counterpart Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to jointly probe the matter has generated anger from netizens with some even claiming that they had ‘previous encounters’ with the said coach.
“My sister one of the Melaka players in the Under-12 category. This fat coach (not body shaming) was very rude,” penned Dua Nama. “He was really rude even when I sent my sister for practice. Spoke angrily to a boy (player) in front of his parents. He also sprayed his vape smoke here and there.”
amirhasifr who asked to “unprivate his Twitter account” described “Teacher Adi/Hadi” as a truly problematic character with high ambition of wanting to raise the standard of Melaka volleyball to impress the Malaysia Volleyball Association (MAVA)” but has numerous personal disciplinary issues himself.
Yusz Tune who wanted Yeoh and Fadhlina to show “no mercy” said there are many better coaches out there. “To be relevant, girls’ team should be assigned a lady coach … same gender is better. Sack those low-class coaches! Please be firm YBs.”
Dato’ Seri Dr. Zainul Azizan urged parents of the players ‘to gang up’ to lodge police report against the coach. “This should be mandatory jail sentence of 15-30 days for hitting minors plus heavy fine. No compromise please. Serious action must be taken by the police and court of law,” he added.
The good news is that MAVA has decided to suspend the coach until the investigation is completed.
“MAVA has taken steps to set up an investigation body to probe the incident immediately. MAVA will also be in contact with related parties and stakeholders,” the national association pointed out in a media statement.
“MAVA absolutely will not tolerate any use of rudeness on any party and is ready to take further action in accordance with the law and the MAVA constitution.”
Meanwhile, Felis Catus and Ikhramism reckoned that a bit of harshness is required to make one become a world-class athlete. – Jan 23, 2023
