DOSB affair: “No criminal behavior” | tagesschau.de

A review commission on the DOSB affair led by ex-President Alfons Hörmann found “no criminal behavior” by the association’s leadership. But the scandal cost the association a lot of money.

Measured against the quake that an anonymous letter in the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) on May 6, 2021 triggered not only in the management of the umbrella organization, but in all of German sport and in public, the report of the external examination committee is now without much ado and rather casually on Wednesday evening (10/19/2022) published on dosb.de been. Supplemented by an interview with the two commission members and statements by the ex-DOSB President Alfons Hörmann and the ex-CEO Veronika Rücker.

Result of the investigation: Hörmann and the chairwoman of the board, Rücker, had tried at considerable financial expense to find out the author of the anonymous letter, which sharply criticized the president, the executive committee and the board. But, as the two investigating lawyers Clemens Basdorf, former judge at the Federal Court of Justice, and lawyer Christa Thiel, former swimming president and DOSB vice president, determined, there was “no criminally relevant misconduct on the part of those responsible for the DOSB”.

Blackened Pages

The report comprises 50 pages, but questions remain unanswered that would be of interest in terms of transparency and a credible processing of answers. About the detailed costs for lawyers, communication consultants or language experts. Or why wrongly suspects became suspects in the letter affair. However, attachments are redacted in the published version.

The unsuccessful search for the authors of the letter cost the DOSB, which was financed with public funds, a total of 700,000 euros. Communications consultants were also called in when there was hardly anything left to save. They obviously failed due to the reluctance of the management duo Hörmann/Ruecker to offer advice.

“It is undisputed that that was a lot of money. You have to see it in perspective: the DOSB is not a DAX company that was attacked here, but a non-profit organization,” said lawyer Thiel.

And her colleague Basdorf added: “Despite the non-profit status, one certainly thought, because one is located higher up in the hierarchy of sport, that one could and should use oneself at high cost in order to achieve the best.” He was amazed “how little the company’s own legal staff worked on solving problems.”

Surprising testimony for Hörmann

Overall, the report is ambivalent. “It can be expected with certainty that many will be disappointed in one direction or the other, and only a few will probably be overjoyed. This is due to the subject of our investigation,” says Basdorf and is probably correct with this assessment.

What is surprising, however, is the testimony that the commission issued to the former DOSB President: “Alfons Hörmann’s commitment in carrying out his honorary presidential activities was exceptionally high, he worked with full commitment and without any material self-interest, was faced with high demands in his work as president others, but above all against oneself.”

The anonymous letter, on the other hand, spoke of a “culture of fear”, and Hörmann’s leadership was sharply criticized. In the report of the inspection committee, it sounds completely different: “He communicated openly, clearly and directly. There were no significant problems in the presidium and board of directors, everyone was more or less able to deal with Hörmann’s handling and management style, and there was broad agreement .”

Criticism of Hörmann restrained

Criticism of Hörmann’s management style, on the other hand, is muted: “The relationship between the president and the employees was seen as problematic.” The employees in the presidential and executive board areas were particularly affected by this.

“President Hörmann’s management style… was questionable in terms of the respectful treatment required by the statutes and good governance rules,” the commission writes. As well as dealing with internal and external critics – the commission also recommends a rethink here, “practicing openness, objectivity, reliability, truthfulness and fair equal treatment when dealing with the media”.

Hörmann regrets

The behavior of the President, which was perceived as difficult, was known beyond the immediate area and was a topic of conversation. In retrospect, it is all the more incomprehensible that the rest of the Presidium and the Board of Management behaved in that they obviously accepted the actions of the Hörmann/ Rücker tandem.

Hörmann gets involved with the report: “I can understand that some of our decisions in these difficult times were not always pleasant and sometimes difficult to understand without the appropriate background information. If my way of demanding and promoting is too clear and partial in some places was found inappropriate, then I regret that. Mutual respectful interaction was, is and will remain an important concern to me.”

Anonymous letter to the works council already in 2020

It is also noteworthy that there was an anonymous letter to the works council of the DOSB with similar content in 2020, but it was not taken seriously. A misjudgment of mood. And so the letter that triggered the turbulence came obviously with an announcement.

For the legal advisors hired by Hörmann and Rücker, this DOSB story is not a glorious page either. This is what the rather irreconcilable-looking Rücker refers to in her statement: “The fact is: all (!) steps in the course of the work-up, in particular the legal and communicative measures that were later criticized in the report, were carried out on the explicit advice of experts.”

As a consequence of the events, the examination commission recommends a rethinking within the DOSB, “to practice openness, objectivity, reliability, truthfulness and fair equal treatment in dealing with the media”.