The president of the Polish Tennis Association (PZT), accused of harassment and sexual violence by a deputy, resigned this Thursday from his position, as announced by the agency in a statement, in which it also indicated the creation of an investigation commission.
“At a meeting of the board of directors of the Polish Tennis Association, Miroslaw Skrzypczynski tendered his resignation (…) with immediate effect“, said the PZT. “The resignation of Mr. Miroslaw Skrzypczynski was unanimously accepted.”
The President of PZT was accused Monday by Polish MP Katarzyna Kotula of sexual harassment in the early 1990swhen she was 13-14 years old.
He said that other players had also been subjected to similar behavior by Skrzypczynski, whom he described as a “sexual predator”.
Skrzypczynski was then his coach at a club in northwestern Poland.
Ms Kotula’s statements echoed other published allegations recently in the press on condition of anonymity.
The president, who has been in office since 2017, He has denied these accusations.
read also
read also
read also
On Tuesday, Iga Swiatek, who dominates the world tennis hierarchy, spoke out saying that “governing bodies must determine what happened.” and hoping they “take care of it”.
“As the current number 1 in women’s tennis, I cannot remain silent“, he said in a long series of tweets, in which he also urged victims of harassment and violence to seek professional help and published the numbers of telephone advice platforms.
Iga Swiatek said she had not been a victim of that behavior.
On Thursday, the Polish Tennis Association also announced that it would create an independent external commission of three women to investigate “all the circumstances surrounding the cases involving Mr. Miroslaw Skrzypczynski, which have been the subject of recent press articles, interviews and reports.” .
The commission, which will be created at the end of November, must submit a report within six months.
