Gymnastics coach Vincent Wevers has also been acquitted of transgressive behavior on appeal by the Institute for Sports Justice (ISR). The ISR released the verdict on Thursday.
Most of the complaints from former pupils of Wevers were disregarded because, according to the appeals committee, the ISR disciplinary regulations are not applicable.
With regard to the other statements, the appeals committee ‘was not convinced that the defendant acted in a disciplinary manner reprehensible’ or the appeals committee could not ‘be convinced’ that the reported cases actually took place. The verdict continues: “However, this does not allow the conclusion that those facts did not take place.”
Last May, Wevers – father of Olympic champion Sanne Wevers – was also acquitted in the first instance because, according to the disciplinary committee, there was insufficient evidence that he had been guilty of transgressive behavior such as physical aggression, shouting and continuing to train with injuries. The disciplinary committee of the ISR strongly criticized the investigation file, which was called ‘unsatisfactory in quality’, partly because the interviews with those involved had not been carefully conducted or written down.
‘Very disappointing’
Remco Boer, director of the gymnastics association KNGU, who lodged the appeal against Wevers, calls the decision “very disappointing”. “What is the meaning of disciplinary law in this way? There are real improvements to be made at the ISR. The Minister of Sport also thinks so,” he says, referring to Minister Conny Helder (VVD), who is in talks with the ISR about improvements in the procedures of sports disciplinary law.
With the acquittal, “the notifiers once again get the short end of the stick,” says Boer. In addition, the union fears that this acquittal “could have a major negative effect on any future reports” of transgressive behavior in gymnastics.
The detectors again get the short end of the stick
Complaints from before 2011 have not been considered by the ISR appeals committee. Only from 2011 gymnastics association KNGU joined the ISR, according to the judgment the general disciplinary law of the gymnastics association applies.
The verdict has taken Remco Boer “by surprise”, he says. “It is highly questionable whether there were provisions in disciplinary law at the time about transgressive behaviour. And who should have tested that? The only possibility of appeal is now with the CAS [Court of Arbitration for Sport] in Switzerland. We are still figuring out whether we will do that.”
What is the role of gymnastics federation KNGU in this file? Some trainers say: this behavior suited the culture at the time in gymnastics.
“Yes, such a passage is also in the statement. The committee also states that there is a culture that you cannot just hold one trainer responsible. But even if things happened in a different way in the past, things can still cross borders. Some reports go beyond the zeitgeist.”
Vincent Wevers is now coach of gymnast Naomi Visser, among others. Can he go to gymnastics tournaments again after the acquittal?
“Vincent Wevers has not been along a few times. The argument then was that the appeal was still pending, as was the unrest surrounding it. And if he had been found guilty, it would have been done. But now that he has been acquitted, technical director Jeroen van Leeuwen must decide. We need to tie that knot.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of March 3, 2023