Escoffier case: The mistakes and failures of the FFVoile sailing association
Jochen Rieker
· 26.03.2024
Me-too allegations weigh heavily, both for those affected and for the accused. And it is good that they are no longer shrugged off or trivialised, but are taken seriously and investigated when they come to light. The problem with this is that the presumption of innocence applies until it is proven, which is all too quickly neglected in the public debate.
In the case of Kevin Escoffier, it took less than two weeks from the alleged assault to the preliminary conviction. In mid-May last year, at the stage stop of The Ocean Race in Newport, the then "Holcim - PRB" skipper groped the employee of a PR agency in a bar. At least that's how the 30-year-old described it to members of her own and other teams, without going to the police or filing charges when she returned to France.
From unproven accusation to public prejudgement
Within a few days, the incident developed a frightening momentum of its own. In Lorient, the centre of French-influenced ocean racing and the home of Kevin Escoffier, there was soon talk of a brawl; numerous other, increasingly wild interpretations circulated, while the participants in the Ocean Race set new 24-hour records on the North Atlantic.
On arrival in Aarhus, Denmark, the alleged incident quickly became the main topic of conversation. The World Sailing Federation intervened; it had been informed by competing teams. The organisers of The Ocean Race also suddenly found themselves under pressure.
In order to exonerate his team and because his sponsor insisted on it, Kevin Escoffier resigned from his post as skipper on 3 June. A step that was later misinterpreted as an admission of guilt. The Breton, who was recognised as a national hero in the Vendée Globe because he acknowledged the sinking of his Imoca in the Southern Ocean with a smile, always maintained that there was nothing to the allegations.
The sailing association president as accuser
However, this did not stop the president of FFVoile, Jean-Luc Denéchau, from taking the matter very seriously. In an interview with the daily newspaper "Le Télégramme" on 4 June, just one day after Escoffier's forced resignation, he said that he would report the incident to the Ministry of Sport: "It is my duty as president to act with the utmost determination in the face of this situation."
It sounded like a guilty verdict: no relativisation that the skipper had to be considered innocent for the time being, that a comprehensive investigation had to be awaited first, no reference to the fact that there were not even any eyewitnesses who could confirm the alleged incident.
Now, you can't blame a head of an association for acting quickly when me-too accusations are made. That is indeed his duty. Serious cases of sexual abuse have gone unpunished for far too long, even in sport. However, an official in such a prominent position must choose his words carefully and must never give the impression that the perpetrator has already been identified. Incidentally, he could have left the actual investigation of the case to the judicial authorities and only then decided on bans, if they had been appropriate at all. But Denéchau wanted to demonstrate his ability to act.
Contrary to his pithy announcement that he would "act with the utmost determination", months passed before the FFVoile reached an initial judgement. The case proved to be far from clear-cut.
It was only on 16 October that the National Disciplinary Commission imposed sanctions on Kevin Escoffier, including an 18-month ban on participating in regattas and a five-year probationary suspension of his licence.
The Commission considered it proven that its investigation "proved inappropriate behaviour of a sexist or sexual nature by Mr Kevin Escoffier towards several women and at several events", according to the thin statement.
The skipper had "violated honour, decency and sporting discipline on the one hand and the dignity and psychological integrity of persons involved in sailing activities, particularly in the field of ocean sailing" on the other.
Only a handful of cases and no conclusive evidence
It sounds like the necessary punishment against an assaulter who harasses women in rows. In fact, however, the judgement is based on the reports of only five alleged victims. Two of the incidents took place five years ago and were only reported last summer when the Escoffier case hit the headlines. Two appear more than questionable because they are refuted by the statements of several witnesses.
The accounts of a former team boss, who allegedly became aware of three incidents during the Volvo Ocean Race 2017/18 but did not report them at the time, were so vague that they were not pursued by the disciplinary chamber in the appeal proceedings.
As is often the case with me-too allegations, reconstruction is difficult or even impossible. This also applies to the two cases that Kevin Escoffier was accused of, which cannot be proven beyond doubt and in which testimony stands against testimony. There were just as few eyewitnesses to the alleged incident in Newport as there were to an alleged assault in Brazil during the Volvo Ocean Race 2018.
The evidence available to YACHT, including WhatsApp messages, emails, memory logs and statements from those not directly involved, casts considerable doubt on whether there was any assault at all and, if so, to what extent.
The striking thing is that the Sailing Association did not adequately take into account the gaps in the argumentation of the allegedly affected parties or their obvious untruthfulness. Otherwise, the sanctions imposed by the disciplinary chamber would not have been justifiable.
Proof according to the principle: where there is smoke, there must be fire
Virginie Le Roy, Kevin Escoffier's lawyer and herself a committed women's rights activist, was downright shocked by the association's investigation and the sanctions it imposed. "In reality, the decisions of the disciplinary bodies are only based on unproven assumptions," she says. The "presentation of evidence" was based on the principle that "where there is smoke, there must be fire", not on the rules of a fair trial.
"The proceedings initiated by the association president with a great deal of communication effort and undoubtedly with political intent were particularly damaging and serious" for her client, said the lawyer. Kevin Escoffier's presumption of innocence was "violated to the extent that the association believed the allegations against him".
The Arbitration Commission of the French National Olympic Committee, which criticised serious procedural errors and a lack of concrete substantive justification for the sanctions on 15 March, agrees with Virginie Le Roy. The comments of the chairman, Bernard Foucher, give the sailing association a very poor report card.
Its president, however, reinterpreted the result in his favour last week. In a press release that resembled a justification speech, Jean Luc Denéchau announced that he would lift the bans against Kevin Escoffier with immediate effect, but also reaffirmed the work of the disciplinary chamber.
Reactions to the judgement of the Olympic Committee
The association states at the outset that it is "pleased to note that, in view of the evidence brought to his attention, the arbitrator is of the opinion that the FFVoile was entitled to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the claimant".
The fact that there were serious procedural errors because the witness examination took place without the defendant and his lawyer being present, which is a clear breach of the law, "is recognised by the association", according to the otherwise verbose statement.
"With regard to the criticism of the inadequate justification of the decision", the association states that "it is not up to the disciplinary bodies of the federations to supplement the ongoing court proceedings or to qualify the facts as criminal". However, neither the arbitrator of the Olympic Committee nor Escoffier's lawyer requested this.
Speaking to Le Télégramme, Jean-Luc Denéchau affirmed without any recognisable self-doubt that the association had "done its job". The associations, he said, were "on the front line. When it comes down to it, they have to be the first to react."
In the statement, he reaffirmed "his willingness to remain fully committed to preventing and combating violence, especially sexual and gender-based violence". Pithy words that signal determination and sound like a "now more than ever" subtext.
This account prompted Virginie Le Roy, Kevin Escoffier's lawyer, to issue a statement that was much shorter in comparison. "It is particularly regrettable that the FFVoile, instead of admitting its mistakes, is using the press release to distort the Olympic Committee's statement with the help of numerous lies and contradictions."
If the FFVoile stops the prosecution, it is because it is not in a position to seriously substantiate even the slightest accusation levelled against Kévin Escoffier"
The lawyer described the handling of this case as "abnormal and dysfunctional". The press release was "a continuation of this, as it is political and hypocritical, at the expense of instrumentalising the protection of victims". Her client, she emphasised, had "always denied the allegations made against him and will go to the end to prove his innocence".
