Boy in the Mirror: An Athletic Director's Struggle to Survive Sexual Abuse as a Child

As an associate athletic director for 20 years Jim Bartko helped drive the University of Oregons innovative athletic program to unprecedented levels of success. Among his key responsibilities? Being a liaison to super donor Phil Knight. Meanwhile though he harbored a secret that nobody knew but two other people his best friend and the Catholic priest who sexually abused them both when they were children. When after forty-four years Bartko finally went public with his story he was lauded for his courage by many particularly those whod experienced childhood sexual abuse themselves. But within a year hed lost his job as athletic director at Fresno State and been served with divorce papers. Bartkos story is one of tragedy and triumph. Boy in the Mirror is a rare heartfelt timely memoir that breaks new ground on a subject thats shaming such stalwart institutes as the Roman Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America. And as much as the sports-loving author regrets his past he has emerged on the national scene as an advocate for those whove lived through the same pain he has reminding readers: I bat last.