The head of the Polish Tennis Association on Wednesday denied an allegation by a member of parliament that he sexually assaulted her within the early Nineties when she was an adolescent and he was a coach.
“I have been the victim of baseless accusations and I intend to prove it in court,” Miroslaw Skrzypczynski mentioned in regards to the allegation by lawmaker Katarzyna Kotula, which has precipitated uproar in Poland since a web based news website revealed it on Monday.
“I have repeatedly stated and I still maintain that the recent media reports about me are untrue,” Skrzypczynski mentioned in an announcement emailed to Reuters.
Kotula mentioned in an interview with Onet news portal revealed on Nov. 21 that she had been sexually abused as an adolescent by Skrzypczynski when he was a coach within the early Nineties.
The allegations got here after one other Onet piece by which Skrzypczynski was accused of utilizing bodily and psychological violence towards his household and gamers he coached.
Onet reported that Skrzypczynski had threatened to sue the location over its first article, saying that the data it contained was not “supported by any reliable source”.
The furore prompted world primary feminine tennis participant Iga Swiatek to submit a message on Twitter on Tuesday urging victims struggling any kind of abuse in life to hunt assist.
“What I feel I can do is to encourage you to look for help when something bad happens in sports communities and in every situation in life when there is a possibility that someone can suffer from physical violence or emotional abuse,” she mentioned.
Fellow Polish tennis star Hubert Hurkacz mentioned on Twitter that he supported “all women and all victims of abuse”.
The Polish Tennis Association is sponsored by state-controlled oil firm PKN Orlen.
In an interview with the wp.pl news web site, Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin, head of the State Assets Ministry which is liable for state-controlled corporations, mentioned he was “shaken” by the allegations and was not recommending additional financing of the Polish Tennis Association.