On June 9, 2021, Australian Olympic swimmer Madeline Groves withdrew from trials to compete in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Without naming anyone or specifying her allegations, Groves took to social media to point to "misogynistic perverts in sport and their boot lickers."
On June 11, Groves elaborated a little in an Instagram post, stating in part, "It would be a mistake for anyone to reduce my decision to a singular incident. My decision is partly because there's a pandemic on, but mostly it's the culmination of years of witnessing and 'benefiting' from a culture that relies on people ignoring bad behaviour to thrive. I need a break."
She added that she hoped her announcement would save other young girls from the experience of being told to lose weight or diet.
Since Groves quit the Adelaide trials, Swimming Australia, the country's governing body over the sport, launched an investigation. In a statement released June 14, the organization said it was forming a panel to look into Groves' statements and the experience of female swimmers overall.
"As we have said before, these allegations are concerning and we want to provide the best environment for our athletes," Swimming Australia said in its statement.
In late 2020, Groves had taken to social media to allege someone had stared inappropriately at her and that person had been promoted.
Groves, a silver medalist at the Rio Olympics in 2016, pulled out of the trials in Adelaide shortly after another high-profile female athlete also pulled out of a competition, also citing the need to prioritize her own health.
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after officials fined her and threatened to suspend her for refusing to attend an after-game news conference. Osaka cited her need to safeguard her mental health for her decision.