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 examining lawyers Clemens Basdorf, former judge at the Federal Court of Justice, and lawyer Christa Thiel, former swimming president and DOSB vice president, found it was the case “No criminally relevant misconduct on the part of those responsible for the DOSB” before.
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 also have to see it in perspective: the DOSB is not a DAX company that was attacked here, but a non-profit organization.”said attorney Thiel.
And her colleague Basdorf added: “Despite the charitable status, you certainly thought, because you are at a higher level in the sport’s hierarchy, that you could and should use it at great expense in order to achieve the best.” He was amazed “how little work was done with their own legal staff to solve problems.”
Surprising testimony for Hörmann
Overall, the report is ambivalent. “It is to be expected with certainty that many will be disappointed in one direction or another, while only a few will probably be overjoyed. This is due to the subject of our investigation.”says Basdorf and is probably right with this assessment.
What is surprising, however, is the testimony that the commission issued to the former DOSB President: “Alfons Hörmann’s commitment to his honorary presidency was extraordinarily high, he worked with full commitment and without any material self-interest, in his work as president he made high demands on others, but above all on himself.”
Criticism of Hörmann restrained
The anonymous letter, on the other hand, was from a “Culture of Fear” the speech, Hörmann’s management of people was sharply criticized. In the report of the test commission, it sounds completely different: “He communicated openly, clearly and directly. There were no major problems in the presidency and board of directors, everyone was more or less able to deal with Hörmann’s handling and management style, and there was broad agreement.”
The criticism of Hörmann’s management style, on the other hand, is muted: “The relationship between the President and the employees was perceived as problematic.” The employees in the presidential and executive board areas were particularly affected by this.
“The leadership style of President Hörmann… was in line with the statutes and good governance-Rules of respectful interaction questionable”the Commission puts it in writing.
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.
Ex-DOSB President Alfons Hörmann
Hörmann gets involved with the report like this: “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 supporting was felt to be too clear and sometimes inappropriate in some places, then I regret that. Treating each other with respect 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 by the report, were carried out on the explicit advice of experts.”
Former CEO Veronika Rücker
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 when dealing with the media”.