Did Gailhaguet cover a coach accused of harassment in Nice?

• According to our information, many skaters from the Nice club are suing their ex-coach whom they accuse of moral harassment.
• According to their testimonies, several minor students were insulted, pushed to anorexia, and manipulated between 2010 and 2017.
• The Federation, made aware on several occasions of these suspicions of mistreatment, never acted, leaving the services of the Ministry of Sports to mount a file which finally led to the suspension of the coach for five years in 2018.

They all started skating before walking, or almost. The dream of a lifetime, and the sacrifices that go with it. Wake up at 5 am every day from 10 years old, direction the only skating rink in the department from the Nice hinterland, for the most part. Physical preparation to start, an hour of ice, and a sprint to lose breath to arrive on time at college. The same journey in reverse at noon, then in the evening. 20 hours on the ice every week to cherish the dream of looking like Sarah Abitbol, ​​Gabriella Papadakis or Guillaume Cizeron. Some have been champions of France or vice-champions of France in their age category. Many took part in competitions abroad, left to follow internships with prestigious coaches in the countries of the East.

Today, all these skaters from the high level section in sport-studies of the Nice club have abandoned the idea of ​​becoming champions, with rare exceptions. They have even abandoned the very short skate, “psychologically broken” by their ex-coach, whom they accuse in justice of “moral harassment” for several years, with the complicity of the Federation and its president Didier Gailhaguet, to whom they criticize not having taken responsibility despite several alerts.

Alcohol problems and repeated insults

When Katia Gentelet entered the NBAA (National Baie des Anges Associations) skating rink for the first time in 2009, the Nice club refounded following the bankruptcy of the NCAP (Nice Côte d'Azur Patinage), Michel Gentelet, the new president, don't introduce her right away like her daughter. He announces that the young woman is here to pass her State Certificate "under the thumb of Sandra Garde", a recognized technician, twice medalist at the French championships. A training that Katia Gentelet will not complete until February 2012. This does not prevent her, a few weeks after her arrival, from being appointed in place of Sandra Garde at the head of the high-level section in sport-studies, girls and young men aged 7 to 15, on average.

Each of the victims (or their relatives) then tells the same version. From the first weeks without history, to more and more frequent delays in the morning, when the students wait, idle, for their coach to arrive. "There were evenings that she watered very well and she couldn't get up," explains Sabrina *, the mother of a former student of Katia Gentelet. She never arrived on time, sometimes with sunglasses to hide her drunk from the day before, adds Sophie *, another mother. The kids were waiting alone on the ice, sometimes they didn't even skate for 20 minutes ”. These days, it is better to pass your double axel so as not to attract the wrath of the teacher.

Selene *, often present at the edge of the ice to ensure that her offspring "is not too roughed up", details the insults uttered by Katia Gentelet. Insults which have been confirmed to us by numerous witnesses. "You're a bitch, your mother is a whore." "Bitch, you'll never get anywhere, you're too bad." "Big cow, you're good for nothing". Contacted by 20 Minutes , the accused coach formally denies: “These are false allegations. I am not an alcoholic, and I have never been drunk at my workplace. I never insulted anyone. If to say things like "You have to shake your fleas, you must not fall asleep, you have to work", they are insults, then we do not have the same notion of insults ".

Gailhaguet "will tell the judge that I am moralistic" says Maracineanu via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/tQcqKDvdWe

An uplifting video

However, Katia Gentelet seems capable of persecuting a prey for several months. A video that we were able to watch shows the director of the high-level section of the NBAA, visibly tipsy, insulting one of her students, crying.

- KG: "You betrayed me, it's good, it's good, shit you asshole".

- The parent present: "No, no, no, Katia".

- KG: "Get lost, you bitch".

- The parent: "No, no, Katia, stop".

- KG: "She can die".

When contacted, Sabine *, the student concerned, remembers the circumstances perfectly: “She often called me a big cow on the ice when I was not good enough, but it had never gone that far. It had been going on for several minutes so the friends I was talking to on the phone told me to film. ” At the time, the girl, who has just gone through a personal drama, lives under the influence of Katia Gentelet, according to her. The latter offers him to debrief his training in bars, sometimes until late hours of the night. “Once, it lasted from restaurants to bars from 11 am to 1 am. I never said no because otherwise she would threaten to kick me out of the ice. ”

She prefers to suggest "an emotional relationship. We are talking about a young girl with a chaotic family life, whom I completely took under my wing. I behaved a bit like her big sister. And sometimes, as a family, we are not going to wear gloves to tell ourselves things. ” Today, Sabine, who no longer skates, does not have quite the same vision. “This woman destroyed my career. For me, she is a narcissistic perverse ”. A term that will come up often in our discussions about Katia Gentelet. “She understood that I was alone, and she manipulated me, until I offered to live with her. During this period, I felt worthless, I had very low self-esteem. I had a period of bulimia anorexia, I hurt myself. Even today, it's still complicated for me. ”

"She forbade my daughter to eat in the evening"

Katia Gentelet is obsessed with weight. Many parents of complainants have found that their child refuses to eat at night. "My daughter has dropped to 32 kilos for 1.50m," explains a mother. The trainer kept telling her: "you have to dry, you have to dry, you're too fat", she pinched her stomach skin in front of everyone else. The children were weighed every day ”. The morning balance was a particularly dreaded moment. “She measured their stomach size, and beware of those who had grown. It pushed girls to anorexia ”. Sabrina: “I had to take my daughter to the endocrinologist several times because she had more than 9% fat. She started to tear the skin off her head without explanation, she was getting anorexic under my eyes. ” Several people have confirmed discomfort during training. At least two skaters fell from starvation on the ice. "They were not allowed to drink until the end of the session," said one witness.

There were weighings, it's true, but they were more or less weekly, never daily, retorts the former coach. I never had the slightest word about weight, I know how confusing and traumatic it can be for young girls this age. Afterwards, you should know that abnormal overweight causes dangerous damage. On each jump, the joints must support a phenomenal weight. Failure to notify parents of this would be failure to assist anyone in danger. ”

Difficult for families in disagreement to complain to the president of the club. They claim that Michel Gentelet protected his daughter in all circumstances. Sélène: "A father who dared to complain about Katia's repeated delays in morning training was struck by Mr. Gentelet in front of the students". Contacted, the parent concerned did not respond to us. Several people, however, attest to the existence of a muscular meeting after the circulation of a compromising video concerning Katia Gentelet.

"He treated us to all the names at this meeting," says Sophie. He said that if we spoke he would call on the Russian mafia. He forced us to sign a document in which we agreed not to reveal anything. I refused, but some parents agreed. I cried two hours in the parking lot after that. " Reached by phone, Michel Gentelet briefly alluded to "a set-up and jealousy against his daughter". He did not respond to our requests afterwards.

Dismissed and suspended in 2018

The alleged acts would have lasted from 2010 to 2017, despite two unsuccessful reports to the Departmental Directorate of Social Cohesion (DDCS). "We were in a gear," almost apologizes Sabrina. As soon as we complained, our children were quarantined. She forbade others to speak to him. Children have been excluded for several weeks. They loved it, it was their passion, so they said as little as possible at home. "

The third report, consisting of the declarations of fifteen families, will be the good, in parallel with a referral to the public prosecutor. In a few weeks, Michel Gentelet was sidelined, and the club managed by judicial administrators. Katia Gentelet is dismissed for serious misconduct, then banned from training twice. First in February 2018, for a period of two months, then in June 2018, for five years. Sanctions addressed in two prefectural orders that we were able to consult.

Here is what is written in that of February 26, 2018 (finally broken by the Administrative Tribunal):

"In view of the nature of the allegations against her, keeping Ms. Katia Gentelet in business poses risks to the physical and moral health of practitioners, especially minors, and there is therefore an urgent need to prohibit her from doing so." supervision of these activities in any establishment on a conservatory basis pending administrative conclusions ”.

Then, in that of June 29:

"In light of the complaints filed with the DDCS, it appears that Ms. Gentelet has training methods which are not compatible with the physical and moral well-being of minors in particular, and which affect physical and moral integrity young athletes ”.

It is this second decree, attacked for the moment without success by Katia Gentelet, who was brandished proudly by Didier Gailhaguet Wednesday during his press conference. The president of the French Ice Sports Federation has raised the Gentelet case as an example of his activism regarding the harassment problems that have been brought to his attention in recent years. Relaunched by us, he estimated that he acted "on time": "We were first informed on the basis of rumors, then when the parents complained, the DTN services got in touch with regional management and the prefecture to work together, and ensure that certain behaviors are sanctioned. An investigation has been launched, sanctions have been imposed. Five years of exercise ban, despite the fact that this person's father is a long-time friend. ”

Emoi à Mulhouse after discovering a coach's past via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/0Ln1qRD7kH

Federation radio silence

The reality turns out to be a little more nuanced. Didier Gailhaguet has been warned several times of Katia Gentelet's harmful behavior, without paying attention to it. 20 Minutes was able to read two letters, among others: the first, sent on July 2, 2014 to the president of the National Sports Commission for Figure Skating, two months after the young woman was voted best young coach by the FFSG. The other, sent on December 5, 2014, addressed directly to the President of the Federation. All accusations of harassment are carefully documented. Two letters remained unanswered. The video mentioned above dates from the summer of 2016, according to the complainant, who only sent it to one or two friends "so as not to lose it".

However, she claims to have been summoned by the Gentelets for an explanation: “They were furious, they accused me of having sent the video to the federation. I was forced to write a letter of apology to the federation. Since I didn't know what to write, they dictated it to me ”. His former coach does not deny the existence of this letter. But for her, the missive was written "on the initiative" of the girl "around a tea, as part of our outings together".

Michel Gentelet and Didier Gailhaguet have enjoyed a privileged relationship for several years. The latter himself evokes "a close friend". He is right. The two men have known each other for a long time, and it was the boss of ice sports who set foot in the stirrup to his friend when the club was overhauled in 2009. “Gailhaguet, Nice, it's his As a baby, he has always had an eye on it, ”explains an officer who requested anonymity. The president of the FFSG organized two world championships on the Côte d'Azur, in 2000 and in 2012. In fact, during the first years when Katia Gentelet trained in Nice, Didier Gailhaguet was mentioned as vice-president in the statutes of the club. Several minutes of general assembly show that he was most often excused, but it seems difficult to think that the boss of the FFSG was not aware of what was going on there.

Gailhaguet-Gentelet, a long-standing friendship

For the complainants, Gailhaguet knew everything. “As soon as we sent our complaints back to the Federation, we were never answered, but Gentelet gave us a blower a few weeks later. He often said he was untouchable ”. The former NBAA president, set aside in 2018, is one of the few who has spoken publicly to defend the president of the Federation. It was in Le Monde , last week: “Today, I maintain that the only person I found capable of making this Federation work more or less correctly, was Didier Gailhaguet. It pains me because, all of a sudden, we make him Satan. "

"Here, we designate a culprit. And then we set up an investigation. The boss of the FFSG Mr. Gailhaguet explains himself following the accusations of sexual violence by the skater Sarah Abitbol. # CàVous pic.twitter.com/usjhF5JBIT

Forbidden to exercise her profession "for remuneration" on French territory in June 2018, Katia Gentelet nevertheless continued to train for several weeks in the summer of 2018 in the club of Brian Joubert, in Poitiers. Another very close to Didier Gailhaguet. A family has indeed followed it from the Côte d'Azur, without regrets. "I have always considered Katia to be an excellent coach for my children," explains Angélique Pitot. She knew the requirements to bring them to the highest level. Besides, we didn't know that she was suspended at that time. ”

The teacher has never returned to the Nice ice rink since that date, and on site, we are trying to rebuild with a new coach, acclaimed. “The recovery of the club was a very trying moment, says Jannick Stute, the new president, mother of a former skater from Katia Gentelet, also a complainant. Today, we left, but there are huge consequences, the kids who stayed, are lost ”. Several parents talk about long-standing relationships with their child, which they sometimes had to withdraw from the club when they noticed the deterioration of their psychological state. Almost all of them indicate persistent weight problems, even several years later.

New information from the prosecution

Many are civil parties, and a complaint is in the hands of the dean of the examining magistrates, "after a first complaint classified without continuation by the parquet floor", specifies us the Council of Mrs. Gentelet, who adds to have pursued ten parents for false testimonies in September 2018. "I am sorry for the parents who made a transfer to their child, whose dream could not succeed, but I have nothing to do with it, estimated Katia Gentelet. I do not want to repeat the words of Mr. Gailhaguet, whom I respect a lot, so I would say that I made mistakes. Sometimes I was too frank and that hurt me. ”

According to our information, other alleged victims have come forward very recently. "This case was the subject of an opening of information at the beginning of the week of the head of moral harassment", confirmed at 20 minutes the prosecutor of Nice. Me Parriaux, the plaintiffs' lawyer, hopes that these complaints will be taken seriously by the prosecution. "I would like the children's words to be finally heard".

* All first names have been changed

Sport

Sexual violence in skating: The mother of a skater accuses Beyer of sexual harassment and blackmail in 2017

Sport

Sexual violence in skating: "I absolutely did not protect Gilles Beyer", Gailhaguet defends himself

• Skating
• Sexual violence
• Sport
• Sarah Abitbol case
• Moral harassment