The Dutch ex-soccer player and commentator Johan Derksen resigned today from his collaboration in the sports program in which he revealed his penetration of an unconscious woman with a candle. He refused to apologize for a story that generated laughter and jokes from the rest of the participants, but cost the station sponsors.
The network that produces the program, Talpa, announced that Derksen, of 73 years old, stops collaborating with the Vandaag Inside program under these circumstances, in reference to the criticism and the media storm in which he finds himself after report that he had sexually abused a woman, with a candle, 50 years ago.
Two other people Associated with the show, including host Wilfred Genee, are also quitting Vandaag Inside, as they come under fire for their laughing reaction to Derksen’s story, despite laughter from those present about the rape story.
Talpa had announced yesterday that all members of the program will request sorry for what happened, but Derksen later refused to apologize when he turned to air the show.
Derksen explained that he cannot do his job properly if the sponsors cancel the collaboration after “a slip”. In addition, he lamented that “there is no place for a guy” like him, before disassociating himself from the program.
The Dutch Public Prosecutor began yesterday to investigate what happened and called on victims and witnesses to tell their version of the story. He also pointed out that the prescription of a case depends “on the nature and context” of the criminal offense.
The commentator told last Tuesday that he and a Dutch doorman had been in the city of Veendam, in the province of Groningen, accompanied by two women and that they were all in such a state of intoxication that one of the young women fell unconscious on the sofa.2022
“I remember it and I’m not at all proud of it (…) That kind of thing happens when you’re young. She was sleeping unconscious on the sofa and there was such a big candle. We put it on him and then we left,” said Derksen, provoking laughter among his colleagues.
In addition, he admitted that “technically, a prosecutor today can understand his behavior as rape,” and that “now he would receive a prison sentence for that”, all in a joking tone, which aggravated the criticism.
A day later, on Wednesday, he tried to tone down that story, assuring that he had only put the candle between her legs, and that it was not a penetration, and refused to apologize for what defined as “a sin of youth”.
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