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Former rower Jonathan Koch
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Guido Kirchner / picture alliance / dpa
Athlete representative Jonathan Koch has distanced himself from a statement by the DOSB Presidium, in which the head of the association, Alfons Hörmann, expressed "unlimited trust".
In a vote on a position on the allegations of employees of the German Olympic Sports Confederation last Friday, he abstained, the rower made it clear in a statement on Twitter.
He did not agree with the choice of words in parts of the statement published by the DOSB.
“Despite my abstention, I was named under this position.
I would like to correct this here, «wrote Koch.
The trigger for the unrest at the umbrella organization was an open letter from the group of employees in which the management style and behavior of Hörmann were sharply criticized.
In addition to the DOSB board, the presidium also expressed its confidence in the 60-year-old.
One is "amazed" at the writing and rejects "this style of communication and the chosen route via the media."
Koch emphasized that a "thorough, independent and open-ended investigation" was necessary for the allegations.
At the same time, he assured that the cooperation with Hörmann and the DOSB leadership had been "always constructive, trusting and respectful".
The 35-year-old expressed the hope that those affected would contact the ethics committee and other complaints offices in the DOSB "and thus enable the allegations to be fully clarified".
The Declaration of the Presidium dated May 7th with the signatures is available as a PDF on the DOSB website.
On the page itself the text is printed with a note that the statement will be published without naming the name.
Hörmann promises a different climate
Hörmann and the top of the German Olympic Sports Confederation want to comment on the serious allegations from the group of employees in front of the ethics committee on Tuesday.
"Our goal will be to answer all the points clearly, openly and transparently," said Hörmann on Monday in the Munich press club.
The 60-year-old said that he was "personally hit by the allegations, just like the entire presidium and the board of directors."
"In the course of the next few weeks," they want to come to a conclusion and "draw the appropriate conclusions," Hörmann continued.
One wants to "create a different climate in the DOSB".
The explanation is made more difficult by the anonymity of the letter.
One is "unable to anticipate who it is and how many there are".
The DOSB leadership had previously promised to take the allegations seriously and switched on the ethics committee chaired by former Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maizière.
The letter denounces a "culture of fear" in the association and complains about the alleged lack of respect and fair play in the executive bodies.
ngo / dpa
