Tom Egbers cannot be seen as a presenter of NOS Sport for the time being. He makes a “mark in place” after the article The Volkskrant, in which he is accused of transgressive behavior by colleagues. His wife Janke Dekker will step down immediately as chairman of the MORES hotline.
The Volkskrant wrote on Friday that Egbers was guilty of bullying in the workplace after an affair with a colleague was ended. Dekker got wind of the affair and approached the woman for a conversation.
After that, the presenter made the woman’s work impossible by using nicknames for her and advising colleagues against working with her. In the end, the woman decided to leave on her own.
Egbers writes in an email to his colleagues from NOS Sport that he will not appear on the editorial floor for the time being. He offers to talk to colleagues who have felt unsafe because of him. According to a NOS spokesperson, it is unclear how long Egbers will not be seen. Gert van ‘t Hof replaces him on Sunday evening as presenter of the Eredivisie broadcast.
Egbers’ wife Dekker does not comment on the reason for her resignation as chairman of MORES, a hotline for undesirable behavior in the performing arts, television and film sector. She says she will do that next week. Dekker has been chairman of the board of the reporting center since 2018. Earlier this year she temporarily suspended her duties, but she would resume them in April.
Dekker calls the Volkskrant article ‘incomplete and therefore incorrect’
In her statement, Dekker does address the article that de Volkskrant published on Friday about transgressive behavior on the editorial board of NOS Sport. Her husband Egbers came forward as someone who had been guilty of this.
The story stated that Dekker did not want to respond. According to her, this is “incomplete and therefore not correct”.
“I’ve tried to de Volkskrant to enter into a discussion and my lawyer has made an appointment for this,” Dekker writes. .”
In a response to NU.nl speaks de Volkskrant the picture that Dekker paints against. “The newspaper would have liked to talk to Mrs Dekker before publication, and has also made several proposals to that end, but unfortunately this was not an option for her.”
She also refused to answer our questions. “Richard Korver, Janke Dekker’s lawyer, wanted an off-the-record conversation, but for unclear reasons did not want to clarify whether he also represented Tom Egbers. Because of this lack of clarity, we decided against the conversation with Korver.”
Daughter sent a letter to Volkskrant
The daughter of Dekker and Egbers, who would have worked for NOS Sport for ten years, would have sent an extensive letter to the newspaper. “Everything in that letter is from the article of de Volkskrant held. With this, essential information has been deliberately kept out of the article,” says Dekker.
Responds to that de Volkskrant that Korver included the letter unsolicited in one of his e-mails. “Our article is about the situation on the work floor at NOS Sport. We have limited ourselves to what is relevant to that work situation. That is the report to the editor-in-chief, the bullying behavior and the intimidation of Egbers towards a young employee, after their affair the light had come.”
“We saw no reason to ask Egbers’ daughter for a response,” the newspaper continues. “Korver is of course free to send us her view of the events unsolicited, but that does not mean that we will publish it immediately.”
Resignation comes as no surprise
Dekker’s resignation was in line with expectations. MORES board members would resign immediately when reports come in that concern themselves or family members. Dekker told this himself in the Radio 1 program at the beginning of this year Misha!. The conversation was about, among other things, the announced investigation into misconduct at NOS Sport.
Fellow board member Amber de Vente will take over Dekker’s duties. “We regret the fact that Dekker is relinquishing her position, but we have great respect for her decision,” says De Vente. “She is a textbook example of an honest director who enjoys an excellent reputation.”
“Under her care, the hotline has grown enormously in recent years. Janke has always devoted herself selflessly to MORES with unbridled energy and enthusiasm and we will miss her very much as a co-director, but also personally.”
