(Frankfurt) The general secretary of the German Olympic Committee (DOSB) announced on Friday that she will step down at the end of the year, as the organization has been criticized for trying to discover the identity of a pitcher alert denouncing his ways of doing things.
A letter was published last May by an anonymous DOSB employee, claiming that a “climate of terror” reigned among the staff.
President Alfons Hörmann was particularly targeted in the letter, since the author accused him of psychological harassment towards his employees and of not respecting all the health rules linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Faced with a vote of confidence in June, Hörmann confirmed that he would not seek another term in December, after eight years as DOSB head.
Secretary General Veronika Rücker will do the same and will step down from her post on December 31, along with her chairman. The announcement was made by way of a press release co-signed by Rücker and Hörmann, released on Friday.
Former DOSB board member Karin Fehres said she received a letter asking her to admit that she was the author of the anonymous letter and informing her that legal proceedings could be initiated against her .
In a response first published in the German magazine FAZ, Fehres argued that she did not write the letter.
Rücker and Hörmann defended their attempt to identify the author of the letter, considering this information essential for an internal investigation into the working climate within the organization. They admitted, however, that this measure “could appear excessive in hindsight”.
They explained that they took legal advice when they ordered a linguistic analysis to try to find the author of the document.