The Center for Safe Sport has not yet been established, now Athlete Germany demands more: the establishment of a national integrity agency that looks after the integrity of sport, its organizations and people. Wasn’t the first step big enough?

Herber: Basically, we’re just embedding our previous views into the broader integrity debate. This year we have heard of several cases that we describe anonymously in our paper. They let us down individually, they let down the influencers, and in some cases they let down the unions too. We realized: There is a huge gap in handling complaints and misconduct. There is no appropriate investigative body that can deal with these matters in a professional and competent manner, so that in the end all parties can accept the result. Reports sent, cases remain unresolved, and no one learns from them. The establishment of the Center for Safe Sport remains our desire and priority. However, we also understand that structural deficiencies in safe sport are the same as in other areas: when it comes to undermining the rights of athletes, human rights issues such as discrimination and protecting people. The issue of integrity in sport should be approached holistically and in a networked manner over the long term.