General News
Greek-American James A. Koshivos, 21, Killed after Car Plunged into Ocean
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
ATHENS – The Vice-President of the Hellenic Sailing Federation, Aristidis Adamopoulos, has denied allegations he sexually assaulted Greek olympic champion Sofia Bekatorou in 1998 and won’t stop down from his post there.
Two other members did in response to what they said was the federation’s apparent attempt to shift blame to her for waiting 23 years to report what she said was a forced “lewd act,” with some reports calling it rape.
Adamopoulos, in a short statement, said he would abstain from his duties as federation representative to the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) “until the case is resolved,” said Kathimerini.
He earlier told the newspaper and site Proto Thema that there was no assault and threatened court action over the report if the media persisted in writing about, a common tactic in Greece.
The federation asked for his resignation as Vice-President, a position he's held since 1997 but after he refused there was no explanation why he couldn’t be fired, suspended or removed with the Sports Ministry saying it would conduct a probe.
The two sailing federation officils who resigned did so in protest at the federation's original response, which called Bekatorou's sexual assault an “unfortunate event” and appeared for blame her for taking so long to reveal it.
HOC President Spyros Kapralos and General Secretary Manolis Kolymbadis quit the federation in protest and referred the case to an ethics commission after the organization described the alleged sexual assault as an “unfortunate event” only.
Meanwhile, Bekatorou was summoned to testify before prosecutor Sotiria Papageorgakopoulou on Wednesday.
Since Bekatorou came forward, she has drawn support from other athletes and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis while the newspaper said that Niki Bakogianni, a silver medalist in the high jump at the Atlanta Olympics, have talked of their own experiences of sexual harassment at the hands of officials of their sports federation.
Greek President of Greece Katerina Sakellaropoulou invited Bekatorou to come to the the Presidential Mansion, the sailing champion – who won gold in the Athens Olympics in 2004 – saying she didn't report the incident at the time in fear for her career and dividing Greece's team when she was 21 years old.
In a column in Kathimerini, journalist Maria Katsounaki was scathing in her indictment of what reportedly had happened after Bekatorou revealed it during an online conference organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sport titled Start to Talk – Break the Silence – Speak, Do Not Tolerate.
“She spoke about the abuse she suffered as a young athlete. But, let’s call a spade a spade: ‘abuse’ is a euphemism for what clearly was rape,” Katsounaki wrote.
Bekatorou explained it this way: “In my young, innocent mind, the only solution was to keep silent and pretend nothing had happened.”
She added, With a lot of work, therapy and analysis, I managed to accept my responsibility for not speaking then, so that this official could be banned from sports facilities.”
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter received her final farewells Wednesday in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes.
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are considering holding a formal vote next month to authorize the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden as the party looks to legitimize a process that has yet to yield any direct evidence of wrongdoing by the president.
JERUSALEM (AP) — It has become an Israeli mantra throughout the latest war in Gaza: Hamas is ISIS.
ATHENS – As the 100th anniversary of her birth approaches on December 2, the tributes to Maria Callas continue – literally all over the world.
NEW YORK – Ahead of The Hellenic Initiative’s 11th Annual New York Gala on December 2, honoree Ted Leonsis, the well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist, shared his thoughts with The National Herald.