Controversy surrounding convicted rapist Steven van de Velde in Paris 2024

At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde made his debut on the Eiffel Tower. The crowd was mixed, some booed. Van de Velde is a convicted rapist.

His team said they were not sorry to let him play in the Olympics. They said “the past is the past” and it should not be brought up at the Games.

Van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison in the UK in 2016 for raping a 12-year-old girl when he was 19. He spent 13 months in prison before being released after the offence was downgraded to a lesser crime under Dutch law. He has been playing beach volleyball since 2017.

During Sunday’s match, van de Velde was booed, but some people also clapped. Melissa Gautier, a 23-year-old health worker, said he shouldn’t be there. “As an athlete, you shouldn’t have a free pass,” she said.

Andrea Syslos, a 47-year-old lawyer from Italy, knew nothing about van de Velde’s past but said: “This is not a good thing. Sports jurisdiction should be tougher than civil jurisdiction. Maybe he should no longer be in prison, but it is not normal for him to play in the Olympics, where he should be a role model for others.”

Van de Velde’s teammate Matthew Immers defended him. “What’s past is past. He got his punishment and is really nice now. For me that’s an example of how he’s grown and learned a lot from it. I enjoy playing with him,” he said.

John van Vliet, press spokesman for the Dutch team, said: “This is something that should not be brought up in sport, in a tournament for which he has qualified. The general issue of convictions for sexual offences or sex crimes is a much bigger issue than sport, but in his case we have a person who was convicted, served his sentence and then did everything he could to compete again.”

Some viewers agreed. Alexandra Bertram, a 46-year-old German architect, said: “I read about it and I think everyone deserves a second chance. They are allowed to be here and that’s why they can be here.”

Van de Velde and Immers lost their match against the Italians Alex Ranghieri and Adrian Ignacio Carambula Raurich.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was satisfied with the Dutch Olympic team’s explanations regarding van de Velde’s participation. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the committee was not entirely satisfied with the situation, but “a crime was committed ten years ago, there has been a full rehabilitation and there are strict security measures in place.”

To mitigate the impact of van de Velde’s participation, the Dutch team accommodated him in alternative accommodation in Paris rather than in the athletes’ village and asked him not to speak to the media.

Alienor Laurent, co-chair of the French feminist collective Osez le feminisme! (Dare to be a feminist), was furious that he was allowed to compete. She said: “What is the message to the victims? That sporting talent is worth more than dignity. And what is the message to the attackers? Attacking a young girl has no impact on your life or your career, you will be celebrated and maybe win medals.”

The case has also sparked reactions in Britain and the United States, where some women’s rights groups have mobilized against van de Velde’s participation. Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran, executive director of the non-governmental organization The Army of Survivors, said: “An athlete convicted of child sexual abuse should not be given the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games, regardless of the country.”