The first interview Tom Egbers gave after allegations of inappropriate behavior attracted 989,000 viewers. The NOS Sport presenter added his story on Friday Khalid & Sophie.
Egbers admitted in the interview that he has had an affair with a younger female colleague in the past. He did say that the two have only kissed in three years. He denied threatening her with death.
Employees of the NOS sports editors previously said against de Volkskrant that the woman was bullied and intimidated by the presenter after the affair. Egbers would, among other things, have run his thumb down his throat when the woman walked by. Female colleagues were therefore advised not to work with him.
The sports presenter joined the table Khalid & Sophie also on the culture at NOS Sport. An investigation into transgressive behavior at that editorial office led to almost two hundred complaints. These were not only about bullying and (sexual) intimidation, but also about discrimination and verbal aggression. Egbers therefore acknowledged that the culture at NOS Sport “has to change”.
Egbers will not be doing any work for television in the coming months. Earlier, the editors-in-chief of NOS Sport announced that she was resigning immediately, and not after a few months, as was originally planned.
The broadcast of Khalid & Sophie on NPO1 was the seventh most viewed program on Friday, according to figures from Stichting KijkOnderzoek. Most people – over 2.1 million – watched it NOS News from 8 p.m. Cops Maastricht (1.5 million) and the RTL News of 7:30 p.m. (1.2 million) were next most popular.
