Sports asked politicians profiled in sports what they thought of the Olympic Committee’s handling of Mika Lehtimäki’s case.
Riikka Smolander-Slotte,
Antti Sahlström,
Joska Saarinen
The Bureau of the Olympic Committee has been criticized Mika Lehtimäki handling the case.
At the beginning of March, the Olympic Committee appointed Lehtimäki to continue in his position as head of the top sports unit until 2024. The CEO was jointly responsible for the selection Mikko Salonen and Chairman of the Board Jan Vapaavuoriand the Vice-Chairs Sari Multala and Susanna Rahkamo.
The other members of the Board of the Olympic Committee were not informed of the warning Lehtimäki received in connection with his re-election.
On Thursday, the Olympic Committee said it would commission an external study on how inappropriate behavior has been addressed in the Committee and how it will be addressed in the future. The request for clarification also concerns the principles of good and transparent governance.
About politicians profiled in in sports Marko Asell (sd.) is of the opinion that the current Bureau of the Olympic Committee will not be able to continue in office during the inquiry.
– When the report is also directed at the presidency, I find it problematic that they would lead the government during that time, Asell says.
Asell says that the activities of the presidency, especially with regard to the re-election of Lehtimäki, raise questions.
– If after the survey it seems that the right thing has been done and trust is found, then at that stage it will be re-evaluated.
Former top wrestler Asell is one of the vice chairmen of the state sports council. Chairman of the State Sports Council Paavo Arhinmäki (left) recalls that the state does not decide who leads sports organizations.
However, the state has an important role to play in funding the activities of the Olympic Committee.
– Financial management can be intervened if it seems that the activity does not meet the ethical criteria and there is something that is not accepted there, Arhinmäki says.
“Looks like decisions are made in a small circle”
Congressman Kike Elomaa (ps.) wonders the way in which the Olympic Committee communicated the Lehtimäki case.
– If a person in public makes a mistake, the best option is to immediately say what has happened and immediately pull it open, process and keep it tidy. If there is a cover-up, it is sensitive that the matter will swell and it will have much greater consequences, Elomaa says.
Elomaa, who was successful as a bodybuilder in the 1980s, says that he was not harassed in his own career. However, he points out that harassment can often be invisible. Elomaa says that in sports circles, cases may not always be handled properly.
– If we are honest, then there are small circles in those sports circles, that clarification is needed.
Arhinmäki reminds that the Olympic Committee has a particularly great responsibility and role in promoting open and efficient governance, equality and ethics.
– It seems that decisions are still made in very small circles and the Olympic Committee has taken on a role not only as a promoter of top sports but also as a promoter of all Finnish sports.
Congressman Saara-Sofia Sirén (co.) It is not surprising that cases of inappropriate behavior arise in sport.
Sirén has a background in sports and sports organization roles.
– Yes, it has traditionally been a real masculine world. There is still a huge amount of work to be done to promote equality.
Former ski navigator as Minister of Sports Hanna Kosonen (center) hopes that with the follow-up of the Lehtimäki case, the structures of sport will be changed for the better.
Kosonen says that the Olympic Committee must establish procedures that enable a safe working atmosphere.
– It would seem that the Olympic Committee and that community may not have been clear about the practice of dealing with such harassment. How are they safely resolved so that the matter is really resolved.
– Everyone must have a safe working atmosphere. That everyone knows how to act in such cases. How do people who have experienced sexual harassment work and how do they say they have been sexually harassed, Kosonen says.
Some MPs were interviewed before Anni Vuohijoki an open letter came out. Goat River wrote that he was resigning from the Olympic Committee’s board. Goat River said it had received a message that he was suspected of sexual harassment. You can read the news about the Goat River case from this link.