Overview

• A ZDF Frontal documentary compiles testimonies from multiple current and former athletes who report sexualized misconduct by coaches across regional associations in Baden, Berlin, Hessen and Niedersachsen.
• At the Olympic training center in Hannover, three former athletes allege explicit messages to minors and sexual assaults in a physiotherapy room, prompting the Niedersachsen federation to file a criminal complaint and a prosecutorial investigation.
• The German athletics federation has opened proceedings to strip an accused Hannover coach of his A‑license, and in a separate Hessen case it has already revoked a coach’s A‑license after reviewing allegations.
• Prosecutors in Mannheim have brought charges in a similar matter, and accused coaches have rejected the claims through their lawyers as baseless and unproven.
• Officials acknowledge protection gaps that enable ‘trainer‑hopping’ and cite data‑privacy limits on sharing sanctions, as the DLV works on license‑status checks and the federal abuse commissioner urges stronger measures, including potential funding consequences.