Jan Hempel’s lawsuit for damages puts the German Swimming Association under enormous pressure to act. More than ever, the case also has a moral dimension.
Kerstin Claus leaves the classification of the case “Hempel against the DSV” no doubts arise. “This is an immensely important step“Said the independent abuse officer in the ARD interview.
Former water jumper Jan Hempel had announced that he would file a lawsuit for millions of euros against the German Swimming Association (DSV) for years of sexual abuse by his coach. Now the discussion about this precedent and the new form of dealing with sexualized violence in sport is picking up speed. The umbrella organization is coming under increasing pressure, while Hempel is receiving a lot of encouragement for his move.
“Does not do justice to victims”
It is part of the process of reappraisal, said Claus, to find answers to key questions: “Who bears responsibility today and who bore it then?” For Léa Krüger, member of the executive committee of Athletes Germany, the lawsuit has “a very big signal effect, because we are finally talking about reparations“. The first reaction of the DSV to Hempel’s advance was sharply criticized by the saber fencer: “That doesn’t do justice to the victims.“
As early as Sunday, the DSV ruled out direct payments to those affected with reference to association law and non-profit status, shortly after Hempel’s lawyer Thomas Summerer filed a lawsuit in the sports show for organizational fault “in seven figures” had announced. This contradicts the statutory purpose, it said in a press release. For Summerer, a protective claim: “If the DSV is sentenced to make a payment, it will under no circumstances be able to invoke non-profit status.”
Center for “Safe Sport” urgently needed
Without mentioning Hempel’s name once, the DSV made vague references to the possibility of setting up funds or foundations for those affected. Kruger doesn’t go far enough. The athletes’ representative warned “concrete discussions” at. “This shows again how urgently we need the center for ‘Safe Sport’, which is equipped with all competences and ensures that justice is done more quickly for victims“, said Krüger. The last plans for the already approved establishment of such a central and independent contact point for those affected by abuse in sport should be completed in the summer.
Hempel’s lawsuit also has a special moral component for the DSV. Since the sexual assaults by Hempel’s trainer Werner Langer are already statute-barred, the DSV could use the so-called statute of limitations objection – i.e. by insisting on the statute of limitations – to make it difficult or even prevent a civil court processing of the case.
“In the end it’s a question of attitude. The German Swimming Association will have to answer this question for itself“, says Kerstin Claus. The abuse commissioner refers to cases in the Catholic Church. For example, the Archdiocese of Cologne has not asserted a statute of limitations in the lawsuit of an abuse victim – also with reference to possible damage to reputation.
DOSB remains non-binding at most
It seems unrealistic that an overarching discussion on specific compensation payments for victims of sexualized violence would be pushed forward by sport itself with all the consequences – also in view of the reaction of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) to Hempel’s announcement of a lawsuit. In a written statement on an ARD request, the DOSB remained non-binding at most. “Constant improvement in the quality of prevention, intervention and processing to protect against violence in organized sport and expansion of the necessary structures inside and outside of sport” are the focus. On the specific case “Hempel against the DSV” the umbrella organization did not agree.
The institution of the Catholic Church is apparently more advanced than organized sport in the fundamental discussion about compensation for victims of abuse – probably also because the lawsuit in the precedent has been running for months. The plaintiff Georg Menne states that he was abused and raped by a priest in at least 320 cases. Menne sued the Archdiocese of Cologne last summer for the payment of 805,000 euros.
Menne’s lawyer, Eberhard Luetjohann, said in an ARD interview that more and more people were contacting his office and many other lawyers hoping for justice and compensation. “We knew there would be a ripple bulging there, but it’s a lot more than we anticipated“, says Luetjohann. Jan Hempel may now trigger a similar wave in sport.