Steven van de Velde, a convicted rapist from the Netherlands, made his Paris 2024 debut on Sunday during a game in the bright weather at the base of the Eiffel Tower. The crowd was met with jeers and conflicting emotions.
Van de Velde’s participation in the Olympics, however, did not elicit any regret from his squad, who claimed that “the past is in the past” and that the issue should not be brought up during the Games.
Following the rape of a 12-year-old girl two years prior, when he was 19 years old, Van de Velde was given a four-year prison sentence in Britain in 2016.
He was sentenced to 13 months in prison, one year in Britain and one month in the Netherlands. However, his sentence was lowered and his offense was reclassified under Dutch law as “committing indecent acts,” thus he was released from prison there.
Since 2017, Van de Velde has returned to compete in beach volleyball.
During Sunday’s game, he was repeatedly jeered, but there were also cheers from other spectators.
Melissa Gautier, a 23-year-old healthcare professional, expressed her opinion that van de Velde shouldn’t have been present among the onlookers.
She stated, “Being an athlete shouldn’t give you a free pass.”
Italy’s Andrea Syslos, a 47-year-old attorney, expressed disapproval of the case after learning about it. Punishment for sports should be more severe than for civil cases.
He remarked, “Maybe he shouldn’t be in jail right now, but it’s abnormal that he’s competing in the Olympics when he ought to be setting an example for others.”
However, Matthew Immers, van de Velde’s teammate, dismissed the criticism directed at the now 29-year-old for competing in the Olympics.
“What has already happened is already done. After receiving his penalty, he is now incredibly kind. Immers told reporters, “For me, it’s an example that (he) grew and learned a lot from it.”
He remarked, “I’m having fun playing with him.”
A press representative for the Netherlands squad named John van Vliet stated: “It’s not appropriate to discuss it through sports in a competition for which he qualified.
“Sex convictions and related crimes are a much larger problem than sports in general, but in this case, the person who was found guilty served his sentence and took all the necessary steps to get back into competition.”
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Some others in the crowd watching the game agreed.
I believe that everyone is worthy of a second chance after reading about this. The 46-year-old German architect Alexandra Bertram stated, “He can be here because he is (legally) allowed to be here.”
In their men’s Pool B match, Van de Velde and Immers fell to Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich and Alex Ranghieri of Italy 22-20 19-21 15-13.
On Saturday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) declared its satisfaction with the Netherlands Olympic team’s reasons for van de Velde’s participation.
The committee was not entirely at ease with the circumstances, according to IOC spokesman Mark Adams, but “a crime occurred 10 years ago, a great deal of rehabilitation has taken place and strong safeguarding is in place.”
Van de Velde’s presence has caused some negative effects, therefore the Netherlands team moved him to a different hotel in Paris rather than the athletes’ village and asked him to keep quiet to the media.
Co-president of the French feminist group “Osez le feminisme!” (Dare to be Feminist), Alienor Laurent, organized a campaign against van de Velde’s participation and expressed her fury that he was permitted to compete in the Olympics.
“What is the victims’ message? She told Reuters last week that “their sporting talent has more value than their dignity.”
What message does this provide to aggressors? Your life and profession won’t be affected by assaulting (a little girl); instead, you’ll be praised and possibly awarded medals.
The case has gained wider attention, particularly in the US and UK, where several women’s rights organizations have launched campaigns opposing van de Velde’s participation in the Games.
“The Olympic Games should not provide an opportunity for an athlete who has been found guilty of child sexual abuse, regardless of their country of origin,” stated Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, the executive director of The Army of Survivors Nonprofit.
