Egbers had an affair with a female colleague more than twenty years ago. In 2009, the anonymous woman reported to the editors-in-chief. That report, in the hands of the newspaper and confirmed by several sources, states that the woman was approached as a 22-year-old trainee by the then 48-year-old Egbers.
The affair starts from the presenter, various sources confirm. During her internship, the presenter sends her texts and emails and calls her, sometimes in the middle of the night. After her internship, she continues to work at NOS Sport and kisses the presenter a number of times. But that’s it, she reports the editor-in-chief.
Egbers’ wife approaches woman about affair
Egbers’ wife, Janke Dekker, approaches the former intern when the affair has already ended and asks her about the relationship. Dekker is not yet chairman of the Mores hotline. At Mores, people can report undesirable behavior in the television sector, among other things.
According to sources from de Volkskrant things really go wrong from that moment on. Egbers would be guilty of bullying and intimidation. Words such as “the poison” and “the serpent” are used by the presenter to indicate the woman. Several people see Egbers intimidating the woman.
At the same time, the woman receives an email from a colleague. In it, the man says he is aware of several situations of transgressive behavior by Egbers towards women on the NOS editorial board.
In the end, the woman, together with reporter Jeroen Stekelenburg, goes to the editor-in-chief. The editors-in-chief say they will talk to Egbers and advise the woman to go to the police if this continues. Stekelenburg does not want to comment substantively on questions about this de Volkskrant.
Egbers says he regrets his behavior
Egbers acknowledges in a response de Volkskrant that he had a relationship with the woman. He says he regrets the relationship and his behavior afterwards. “Because of the sadness that I caused in my private life. The fact that she was in her twenties at the time and I was in my forties is also very important to me, looking back after all these years.”
Egbers also says that he has indeed taken the private situation to the workplace and involved other colleagues. He says he wanted to leave Other Times Sports, where he worked with the woman. After discussions with, among others, the editor-in-chief and the management, he said he came back from this.
Female colleagues were warned about Egbers
The affair leads to female colleagues being warned about Egbers. Aïcha Marghadi, who worked at NOS Sport from 2010 to 2012, was advised against choosing him as a mentor by editor-in-chief Maarten Nooter. According to Marghadi, the editor-in-chief said that Egbers “had quite a bit of trouble with beautiful women”.
The affair and the way Egbers acted afterwards, as well as the fact that he is married to Mores’ chairman, leads to another problem. Employees tell de Volkskrant not to have made any reports to Mores, because Janke Dekker works there.
They do not trust that their complaints will be dealt with independently there. Dekker did not respond to questions and requests from de Volkskrant. Through her lawyer, she says she doubts whether the newspaper “operates openly and objectively”. Her lawyer does state that Dekker welcomes the fact that “a diseased culture within a media company is being denounced”.
NOS says it is ashamed of the events
The NOS is ashamed of the experiences mentioned. “This shows once again that there is real work to be done, and that what happened in the past must never happen again,” said general manager Gerard Timmer in response to the article.
When asked whether the NOS is taking measures against Egbers, a spokesperson replies that the broadcaster will talk to all employees mentioned in the article.
