TESTIMONY
While figure skating is shaken by the revelations of Sarah Abitbol, who accuses her former coach Gilles Beyer of having raped her repeatedly, many sportsmen from other federations hope that the freedom of speech will extend to all disciplines. Because the Abitbol case could well be representative of a more global omerta in high performance sport.
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Hélène Romano, doctor of law and psychopathology, testifies at the microphone of Europe 1 of "gloomy things" and of incidents reported within "the very particular environment" of Insep, the prestigious National Institute of Sport, the expertise and performance, a kind of talent pool for French sports. She worked there as a stay attaché in the reception surveillance service, between 1992 and 1994, and her alerts remained unanswered.
"A form of omnipotence"
Hélène Romano evokes at the microphone of Europe 1 an "extraordinary place", where "very positive things" happen, like "murky things". "At the time, it was common to be arrested as a supervisor by minor sportsmen or young adults who said they were bothered by other sportsmen, not wanting to go to such a building or wanting to be escorted back in the evening", says Hélène Romano. "That was everyday." For many athletes, being trained at Insep has been a long-standing ambition. "It is the grail, the Insep, which gives a form of omnipotence", she affirms, continuing: "Currently I don't know, but 30 years ago a lot has happened past. "
" I had made an incident note, which had been torn before my eyes by the manager "Hélène Romano remembers in particular multiple incidents involving prostitutes, whom sportsmen met at the Bois de Vincennes, near the Insep, and welcomed in the premises. "We used to recover them (prostitutes) sometimes in impossible states. Once, a naked young woman, completely shaved from head to toe," she recalls. At the time, Hélène Romano raised the alarm. "I had made an incident note, which had been torn before my eyes by the manager. He told me that athletes had the right to decompress, that you had to understand the stress in which they were", she testifies.
"Real pressure" on whistleblowers
It was not the only time that officials from Insep shut the door. "At the time, I alerted those responsible. My contract was not renewed, I don't know if it has any connection, but it is an observation that I can make," underlines Hélène Romano. She denounces a "real pressure" exerted at the time at Insep on "whistleblowers". "Sportsmen who spoke were not selected. Coaches were fired, and contracts were not renewed for the professionals," she said. Now, Hélène Romano hopes that the revelations will help lift the omerta of the sporting world. "People knew, all federations combined. Today, speech can be released only if we know that there will be no reprisals."