As of: 08/21/2022 6:23 p.m
After Jan Hempel’s shocking statements, there are new allegations against the German Swimming Association. Is the DSV now on the money?
New allegations, threats from politics: The German Swimming Association (DSV) and the national coach Lutz Buschkow, who has since been released, are coming under increasing pressure after the shocking allegations of abuse by the former water jumper Jan Hempel. Voices are already being raised in the federal government that question the eligibility of the association in the wake of the scandal.
Özdemir: “Not a penny of tax money”
“We have now seen that the time for lip service is finally over,” said Mahmut Özdemir (SPD), Parliamentary State Secretary responsible for sport in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, of the sports show. An association that does not adhere to the requirements and conditions for funding, added Özdemir, “which tolerates sexualised violence, doping or other interpersonal violence, does not explain it, covers it up – such associations are not allowed to receive a cent from tax funds.”
Abuse: It’s about sitting out or trivializing
In the past ten years, the association has received almost 45 million euros in competitive sports funding from the budget of the Ministry of the Interior, i.e. from taxes. This makes it one of the most sponsored sports associations after the German Athletics Association (DLV).
Now, in addition to the allegations that Buschkow and DSV did not take action to deal with Hempel’s allegations of abuse against his coach Werner Langer, there are others – and again it’s about sitting out or trivializing.
New cover-up allegations from Aachen
According to information from the sports show, in 2009 representatives at the federal water jumping base in Aachen became aware of numerous cases of sexual contact between young athletes during DSV events, German championships, international competitions and an international match between England and Germany.
The sexual contacts were favored by neglecting the supervisory duties of trainers and supervisors. Athletes “raged through beds unsupervised” and “had sexual intercourse with each other,” said Hans Alt-Küpers, then head of the jumping department at the federal base in Aachen, the sports show.
The “DSV was then informed because almost all DSV bases were affected”. The DSV “did not consider it necessary” to take similar disciplinary measures as the Aachen base. “Quite the opposite,” said Alt-Küpers: “We were accused of blocking and punishing squad athletes without asking the DSV that we were allowed to do that.” In Aachen there was a conversation with Buschkow, who was DSV competitive sports director at the time.
DSV board: “No knowledge”
As a result, according to Alt-Küpers, the DSV leadership actively worked towards Aachen losing its status as a federal diving center – which then happened on January 1, 2013.
The DSV informed the sports show on Sunday that the board had “no knowledge” of the allegations regarding the Aachen cause until it received the ARD request. “Of course, these were recorded immediately and are currently being examined intensively and with due care,” it said.
Buschkow did not want to comment on the ARD request. The DSV released the national diving coach on Thursday a few hours after the documentary “Abused – Sexualized Violence in German Swimming” was first broadcast in the ARD media library and initiated an investigation.
Other ex-officials incriminate Buschkow
In the Hempel case, Buschkow is now coming under increased pressure. A former high-ranking official from the DSV division of diving, who wants to remain anonymous, told the ARD for the sports show on Sunday (21 August): “All trainers and officials in diving at the time knew that Werner Langer abused athletes – consequently Lutz too Bushkov.”
Another former DSV top functionary explained: “We were all interested in making it noiseless.”
In the ARD documentary, Hempel stated that he had been abused by his coach at the time, Werner Langer, for 14 years. He accused the DSV and the long-time top official Buschkow of having remained inactive after he had charged Langer internally in 1997. Langer took his own life in 2001.
Hempel: “The ball got rolling”
Meanwhile, Hempel, who celebrated his 51st birthday on Sunday, is proud of his bold move. “Having started a big ball is a great blessing for me,” Hempel told Sportschau: “What happened to me cannot be undone. But what will happen in the future can be changed. “
Source: sportschau.de