Boy in the mirror : an athletic director's struggle to survive sexual abuse as a child
(Book - Paperback)

As an associate athletic director for 20 years, Jim Bartko helped drive the University of Oregon's 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 who?d experienced childhood sexual abuse themselves. But within a year he?d lost his job as athletic director at Fresno State and been served with divorce papers. Bartko?s story is one of tragedy and triumph. "Boy in the Mirror" is a rare, heartfelt, timely memoir that breaks new ground on a subject that?s 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 who?ve lived through the same pain he has, reminding readers: "I bat last."