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Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of Waikato

The Black Ferns review shows – again – why real change in women’s high performance sport is urgently overdue

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New Zealand Rugby’s just released report into the culture of the Black Ferns national women’s team is damning, but sadly all too familiar.

Like a number of previous investigations into elite sporting codes – including football, cycling, rowing and gymnastics – it reveals abuses of power and inadequate systems that are failing sportswomen. Despite significant investment in women’s sport over recent years, its rapid professionalisation is exposing problems in systems designed by and for men.

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