The Hungarian descent SportAccord President Vizer Resigns

Full text of the letter sent by Marius L. Vizer to all International Sport Federation Presidents on Sunday informing them of his decision to step down as SportAccord President.

Dear Sport Family Members,

Dear Sport Lovers,

Courage is one of the basic principles of sport and one of humanity’s important virtues.

When I emigrated from communism in 1988, I risked my life and my family’s life in order to live in a free and democratic world, where one of the supreme values is the freedom of speech and of opinion.

In this past month it was proven that in the free world there are, still, higher structures where the supreme value is SILENCE!

Given that this is the answer that I received to my declaration in Sochi and to the proposal of the 20 points agenda, regarding the reforms and benefits requested for the sport and the athletes, I decided to withdraw from SportAccord and the IOC Coordination Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, thanking all those who supported me and believed and still believe in me, in the values I proposed and I defend!

One important principle of the sport that consecrated me is HONOR. I withdraw with honor and for the honor of sport, its credibility in society, and I hope that one day sport becomes a completely transparent system, a moral code and a model for society.

Everything I proposed is right and I hope to have opened a door that had been closed for a century, and I hope it remains open forever for the benefit of sport and its values.

Today, the system working behind the doors is dictated by nobility titles or family inherited titles, or by members appointed for life and I hope that in the future, the basic criteria of the system will be dictated by the achievements in sport, professionalism, performances, fair-play, transparency and the courage to express the truth.

To those who accused me of not knowing well enough the “Olympic Movement” I can answer that I know much better than they think the international sports movement and the honor of sport, because I dedicated my entire life to sport, serving it voluntarily, by passion and love, without pecuniary advantages like others …

The part that they say I don’t know, to be honest, I don’t even want to ever know it!

It is the secret and mysterious part in the shadow of the organization of big sports events, a dirty game, with huge stakes, whose implications can be seen these days in some organizations, but at a very small scale.

What is important in this game? At one point, everybody “plays” by the “no rules“ rule!

Inside the Games initiated a voting poll giving the chance to vote on the rightfulness of the contents of my declaration from Sochi and the poll – reflecting the voice of society, the consumer of the sport values and the beneficiary of the sport events, was in my favor, with over 90%. In the “free world” this voice of society does not matter anymore?!

I would like to remind my colleagues who decided to suspend their organizations’ SportAccord membership and who chose not listening to the voice of society and continuing the fight for reforms, transparency and fair-play in sport, that in a European city there is a bridge called “Bridge of Lies” where lovers promise each other eternal love by hanging a padlock on this bridge. I have never hanged and I never will hang a padlock on this bridge for two reasons: one -honor, the other – there is no more space for padlocks!