Lorena* says she was on the bus, on the way to a Santos match, when coach Kleiton Lima got up to use the bathroom at the back of the vehicle.
– When he left, he rubbed himself against me, on my shoulder, I felt it. He passed three, four benches and looked with that evil look of his. Like: “I did it and what are you going to do?” – says the player, taking a deep breath in a choked voice, anonymously during an exclusive interview with ge.
Kleiton Lima: coach returns to Santos amid new allegations of sexual harassment
Kleiton denies the accusations. Santos, on the other hand, defends the coach and invalidated the allegations, claiming to have proven, through investigation, the “untruth” of the facts. The players, however, deny having been approached by the club and report feelings of helplessness, indignation and fear over what happened.
– If 19 letters are worth nothing with a man’s word, who will believe you? – asks one of the club’s former athletes.
When contacted, Santos did not take a position at the time of this publication. The report will be updated in case of a response.
1 of 2 Kleiton Lima returned to coach the Santos women’s team — Photo: Pedro Ernesto Guerra Azevedo/Santos FC Kleiton Lima returned to coach the Santos women’s team — Photo: Pedro Ernesto Guerra Azevedo/Santos FC
Hours earlier, Santos had announced the dismissal of the coach – as well as the assistant, physical trainer, performance analyst, goalkeeper trainer, psychologist, masseur and physiotherapists.
During that period, there was dissatisfaction with Kleiton Lima’s work and treatment of athletes, with reports of psychological pressure, moral and sexual harassment, which were being constantly reported to members of the women’s football department, according to the players.
There were also statements containing threats, inappropriate comments and about clothing.
– I think he should respect himself and give us respect and wear at least some underwear – says Letícia*, another former Santos athlete, whose name has been preserved, heard by the report.
Ana Thaís disapproves of handling Kleiton Lima’s return as coach of Sereias da Vila: “Very disrespectful way”
– He talked about his sexual relationship with his wife to some girls and they came to talk to us and we realized how absurd it was. What we heard was that he touched some parts of the girls, legs, butt, which was not a respectful touch – he adds.
The players say that they were advised to contact the club’s ombudsman and therefore formalized the complaints on Santos’ official channel.
– The allegations were made before the game against Corinthians. Sunday passes and everyone is apprehensive, girls having anxiety attacks, we arrive to train and who is there? Kleiton. We looked at each other’s faces. He closed the circle for prayer and do you know when he was taken to speak to the director? Monday afternoon after training – says Lorena*.
Coach Kleiton Lima returns to Santos
Kleiton left command of the team, and the season ended with Bruno Silva appointed as coach of the women’s team. Santos fell in the semifinals of the Brazilian Championship to Corinthians, and 14 athletes left the squad at the end of the year. They say that they did not receive any feedback from the club about the complaints.
Seven months later, Kleiton Lima is back. He was introduced last Tuesday as the new coach, when he spoke about the allegations, supported by the Santos board.
The women’s coordinator, Thais Picarte, said that the arguments against the coach were weak.
– As a manager and a woman, I found out in depth the people and athletes who left the club. Nothing was proven, they were fragile arguments that brought a stain to Santos Futebol Clube – said the director.
The club’s football director, Alexandre Gallo, said that the delay for the club to take a position was so that an investigation could be carried out.
– Our compliance worked hard. We had a lot of contact with the Civil Police, they were partners in investigating everything that happened. We reached a consensus that nothing happened as stated in the letters – said the director.
2 of 2 Thaís Picarte, Kleiton Lima and Alexandre Gallo during the presentation by the coach of the Santos women’s team — Photo: Bruno Gutierrez Thaís Picarte, Kleiton Lima and Alexandre Gallo during the presentation by the coach of the Santos women’s team — Photo: Bruno Gutierrez
The athletes, however, say they were not approached by Santos. Nine of the 14 players who have left the club since last season used social media to say that they were not contacted or heard in any investigation process.
When contacted by the report to clarify how it participated in the aforementioned investigation, the Civil Police responded in a note:
“The Civil Police informs that the aforementioned case was investigated through a police investigation initiated by the 2nd Police District of Santos and forwarded to the Judiciary in January of this year, having returned with a request to redistribute the case to the Special Criminal Court (Jecrim). “
The aforementioned investigation refers to the complaint made by the coach against one of the club’s players.
At the presentation conference, Kleiton Lima said that he requested, before handing over the position, that Gallo and the former board investigate the case. He requested the opening of an investigation to investigate the authorship of the anonymous letters and claimed to have been a victim of slander and defamation.
– I want to make it clear and transparent that I did not commit harassment. Those frivolous letters never belonged to me. I left the club to wait for Santos to be confirmed. There is no formal accusation against me in court – said the coach.
When contacted, the São Paulo Court of Justice says that “in principle” there are no cases registered in the system with Kleiton Lima as a defendant.
The Public Ministry of São Paulo, however, also in contact with the report, informs that there is an ongoing investigation at the MPSP and that it is under judicial secrecy.
In 2023, the coach handed over his position after complaints at Santos
Why was there no police report?
The athletes say they trusted the guidelines given by the club and the investigation process by the Santos ombudsman.
– The only thing there was a collective meeting, and it seemed that they were more concerned with naming the letters, with knowing: “Ah, it was you who wrote that letter.” Than to actually protect someone – says Letícia*.
– We didn’t try to file a police report because how do you prove harassment? He always arrived when the girl was alone, leaving or arriving, so it was difficult because it was word against word, and unfortunately we know that the weight of a man’s word is much greater than the weight of our word.
Some of the athletes who wrote the anonymous letters are still at the club. They report fear of meeting the coach, what they will feel, how they will react and how they will be treated by Kleiton. The exact number of players will not be disclosed, to protect the identity of these women.
Among those who left the club, there are reports of fear of suffering triggers – which are situations that trigger trauma – when they come across the coach throughout the championships.
Intertwined by pain and concern for each other, some of the players maintain contact with those who remained.
– Everyone is scared, right? Fear of suffering reprisal, of being coerced, of being excluded from the team, of not being respected as an athlete.
2024-04-12 16:58:05
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