The president of the Polish Tennis Association (PZT) resigned on Thursday, the governing body said in a statement, after being embroiled in a sex abuse scandal. In an interview with the Onet news site published on Monday, MP Katarzyna Kotula accused PZT leader Miroslaw Skrzypczynski of sexually assaulting her when he was a coach in the early 1990s.
The allegations came after another Onet play in which Skrzypczynski was accused of using physical and psychological violence against his family and the players he coached. Skrzypczynski denied the charges in a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday and said he intended to prove his innocence in court.
“At the Polish Tennis Association Board meeting (…) Miroslaw Skrzypczynski tendered his resignation as Chairman of the Polish Tennis Association Board with immediate effect,” PZT said in a statement. “Miroslaw Skrzypczynski’s resignation has been accepted unanimously.”
The association said it would set up an independent commission made up of women to investigate the charges against Skrzypczynski. Skrzypczynski did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Thursday.
The furor surrounding the allegations prompted world number one tennis player Iga Swiatek to post a message on Twitter on Tuesday urging victims facing any kind of abuse in life to seek help. Polish tennis star Hubert Hurkacz said on Twitter that he supports “all women and all victims of abuse”.
Skrzypczynski will be replaced as head of the PZT by former vice-president Dariusz Lukaszewski.
(This story has not been edited by the Devdiscourse team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)