Research agency Verinorm will report on the nature and extent of unacceptable behavior in sports sports on Wednesday at 10 am. Researchers Marjan Olvers (Professor of Sports and Law) and Anton Van Wijk (both at an Integrity and Social Safety Research and Consulting firm) focused on both sport and recreational sports on behalf of the KNGU Gymnastics Federation.
The immediate culprit was the Netflix documentary Sports A, which revolves around an abuse scandal in the United States about sports doctor Larry Nassar and reports of abuse worldwide in gymnastics. The Croatian National Trade Union announced the investigation in mid-July. Not long after, Dutch gymnastics coach Gerrit Beltman admitted that he had offended and insulted young gymnasts while training for years. This led to numerous statements from former Dutch gymnasts accusing other coaches of aggressive behavior. A number of them have reported abuses before, but the accused coaches have been active for years.
The independent research, funded by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, focused on mapping the nature, scope, and approach of unacceptable behavior in both elite and recreational sports, between minors and adults in all disciplines of sports sports. The results are anonymous and accompanied by a series of recommendations.
The investigation is separate from the pending disciplinary cases at the Institute of Sports Justice (ISR). The National Confederation of Congolese Trade Unions and Centrum Veilige Sport Nederland have passed around seventy complaints to the ISR, involving a total of around 25 coaches. Former national team coach Gerben has been acquitted and redesigned this week.
The Federation of Trade Unions will respond to the report on Wednesday. This is what Monique Kempf (Chairman), Mariki van der Blas (Manager) and Mark Meger (Technical Director) do. The report should lead to further cultural change within the sport. The presentation can be followed live.
