Dutch Olympic organizers stand by qualification of athlete convicted of rape

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Beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was charged and convicted of the rape of a 12-year-old, will be competing in the Paris Olympics with the backing of the Dutch Volleyball Federation and Dutch Olympic organizers.

In 2016, van de Velde, now 29, was convicted of rape after having sex with an underage girl in England, the Dutch Volleyball Federation said in a statement posted to its website and shared to social media June 26.

Van de Velde and his partner, Matthew Immers, qualified to represent the Netherlands at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Van de Velde has been competing in international volleyball tournaments since 2017, according to the federation, also known as Nevobo.

In a statement on Nevobo’s website, van de Velde addressed the renewed attention to his past. The statement did not address the person he raped, who has not been publicly named.

“In 2016 and afterwards, several Dutch media also paid attention to the story. I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the attention of international media,” he said in a statement.

TODAY.com reached out to the Dutch Volleyball Federation for further comment from the organization and van de Velde but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Steven van de Velde’s conviction

Van de Velde gave an interview about his conviction to NOS, a Dutch public broadcasting organization, in 2018.

“I did what I did. I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences,” he said. “It has been the biggest mistake of my life. It’s a huge mistake, no one will deny that side of the story, and there’s nothing I can do about it anymore, so I just want to tell my side of the story.”

NOS reported that van de Velde met the 12-year-old girl through Facebook when he was 19 years old. In 2014, he traveled to England to meet her.

“I made that snap decision,” he said. “And I booked that ticket in the morning and flew out in the afternoon. As you know, things happened. We had sex and I came back the next day.”

In 2018, he said, “I can also keep blaming myself a hundred thousand for it happening and how it happened.”

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison, part of which he served in England, according to Nevobo.

At his sentencing, his lawyer said, “There is genuine remorse. He has lost a stellar sports career and has been branded a rapist. Plainly it is a career end for him,” the BBC reported in 2016.

His sentence was “adjusted” when he was transferred to the Netherlands. NOS reported in 2018 that van de Velde spent a total of 13 months in prison.

After his release, he went through counseling and demonstrated “self-insight and reflection,” according to Nevobo.

Van de Velde feels “gratitude” watching back his 2018 interview, he said in a statement on Nevobo’s site.

“Because of the second chance I got from my parents, my friends, acquaintances and colleagues, who accepted me again after the biggest misstep of my then young life,” his statement reads. “I am also grateful to the Dutch Volleyball Federation, because they offered me, with clear conditions and agreements, a future in this beautiful sport again.

“But I also think back to the teenager I was, who was insecure, not ready for a life as a top class athlete and unhappy inside, because I didn’t know who I was and what I wanted,” he continued.

Dutch Volleyball Federation, Dutch Olympic organizers defend van de Velde

On its website, Nevobo said it supports van de Velde’s participation in Paris.

“We know Steven’s history. Before he expressed his desire to return to beach volleyball at the time, we spoke extensively with him but also with NOC*NSF (The Dutch Olympic Committee*Dutch Sports Federation), among others,” Michel Everaert, general director at Nevobo, said in a statement.

“He was convicted at the time according to English law and he has served his sentence,” Everaert continued. “From then on, we have been in constant contact with Steven, who has now been fully reintegrated into the Dutch volleyball community. He is proving to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return. We fully support him and his participation in Paris, which he and Matthew have earned.”

NOC*NSF also said they stand with van de Velde competing at the Paris Olympics.

“Van de Velde now meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team,” the organization said.

Public response

Online, many said they were outraged by the decision to send van de Velde to the Olympics.

On Instagram, Charlotte Proudman, a barrister and founder of the U.K.-based organization Right to Equality, spoke out about van de Velde’s participation and said, no “child rapist should represent a nation in the Olympics.”

“It’s a slap in the face to survivors to see a rapist applauded as if nothing ever happened,” Proudman said.

“Why would girls and women report rape when society protects men and lets their lives continue unscathed, ignoring the trauma inflicted on victims?” Proudman added.

Sara Alaoui, the founder and director of the Safe Space Club in Amsterdam, told the New York Times that van de Velde’s participation suggests, “if you are a white Adonis, you have less to answer for.”

“I don’t understand that this is how we handle this in post-MeToo the Netherlands,” she told the outlet. “We’re talking about child abuse here.”

People have also expressed their concerns on X.

“This decision makes my blood boil!” one person wrote on X. “I’m also disgusted by the apathy around this ludicrous, morally bankrupt decision! It’s an insult to victims of sexual violence all around the world!”

Another called attention to the title of Nevobo’s statement, “Support for Steven van de Velde, who realizes past cannot be erased.”

“You know who already know that the past cannot be erased?” the X user wrote. “Victims of child sexual abuse.”

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: