The next coach, the next horror report. After the abuse scandal involving handball coach André Fuhr became public in Dortmund in October, the next scandal follows. Because at HSG Blomberg-Lippe, where Fuhr worked as a trainer for 16 years and where those responsible afterwards do not want to have known anything about his encroaching actions, his successor Steffen Birkner has now also been counted.
“When we made mistakes, we played ‘gay balls’, were ‘disabled’, were called ‘fat’ and ‘stupid’ at whim,” says a former player in the latest issue of “Spiegel” giving an insight into everyday training and the associated psychological terror.
A sentence that reveals the disgustingness of the events on so many levels. It shows what has already been suspected in many places: that Fuhr is not an isolated case and that after the figurehead of German handball in the women’s area, another Bundesliga club is probably affected. Again the club is said to have been informed about the methods, again the events in the league were no secret. Everyone looked away again.
Around fifty affected handball players have now turned to the contact point against violence in sport of the Initiative Athletes Germany. It is important that they are finally heard and that it is ensured that the structures change sustainably and take preventive action. This is only possible with personnel consequences, both in the clubs and in the umbrella organization.
After all, there was no reaction here either and the newly established DHB commission had to be dissolved after less than a month because the people involved had “irreconcilable personal differences”. Because apparently the ego of those responsible was more important than the will to remedy the grievances.
There can hardly be a greater indictment of poverty. Community, fairness, respect – the values that sport actually stands for have been ignored for far too long. It’s time to think about it again.
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