Thomas Bach is slated to step down as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The director of the human rights organization Human Rights Watch for Germany, Wenzel Michalski, called for this on Sunday on Deutschlandfunk.

The power of the most influential sports official in the world (and others) "must now be broken".

With verve in his voice, Michalski presented his reasons almost a month before the planned start of the Winter Games in Beijing: irresponsible and greedy for money.

The human rights expert can be sure of applause.

The closer the competitions get, the more the obvious brutal suppression of dissenters by China's partisans comes into focus.

The public charge, the disaster ultimately at the back of young athletes who were largely overwhelmed in political matters, was foreseeable.

A similar picture emerged as early as 2008, at the Summer Games in Beijing.

The premiere in China, hailed as a door opener, did nothing for the better.

It got worse.

One could agree with Michalski.

How can such a clever Thomas Bach, at that time already in the IOC's circle of power, make such a mistake that discredits the entire Olympic movement?

Out of sheer greed?

Thomas Bach's strong position

It is not that easy. In 2015, the IOC members had the choice between the superpower China and the ailing Kazakhstan - after, among other things, the Germans rejected the Olympics. An application from Bach's homeland would have been accepted by the IOC with a kiss. The Olympians then decided to secure their livelihood. That doesn’t make Beijing’s choice any better, but it does show the first and foremost task Bach has to do: to organize the Olympics. In a world that, for good reasons, is becoming more and more critical of its association princes and is increasingly abusing the blessings of sport as an image tuner there.

Bach's position in this game is much stronger than the Western perspective suggests. He proved his tactical skills by awarding the Summer Games to Paris (2024), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032). It was combined with an impressive business result. If you look at the IOC as a company, then the president is probably one of the most successful managers in the movement.

And yet Michalski is right: it is time for a “new generation of functionaries who are more conscious of human rights”.

That won't happen overnight.

But the growing pressure from athletes and societies is evidence of an unstoppable change that is creating a new leadership culture, as was the case recently with the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

As soon as more sponsors understand and convert this change, the power of money could move exactly what blocked it last.

Sport in the right place.

At least for a while.