Boos greet convicted rapist at his first game – DW – 28.07.2024

With cameras focused on him, Steven van de Velde warmed up with his playing partner Matthew Immers for his first match in the beach volleyball tournament at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Under normal circumstances, such a warm-up session would be of little importance and even less interesting. But Van de Velde’s participation in these Olympic Games is anything but normal.

In 2016, the Dutchman was convicted of raping a 12-year-old British girl he met on Facebook in 2014, when he was 19. He received a four-year prison sentence, but only served 12 months of it in the UK before being transferred back to the Netherlands, where he served just one month because the crime was considered less serious there.

Far from the public spotlight, the warm-up phase should be the calm before the storm.

Van de Velde, now 29, was loudly booed when he was introduced by name to the crowd ahead of his country’s group match against an Italian pair on Sunday, but Dutch fans in attendance tried to drown out the negative noise with cheers.

Van de Velde’s participation shows “demanding attitude”

As the boos suggest, Van de Velde’s participation in Paris has sparked widespread anger and concern, with a petition calling for his disqualification from the Games being signed by nearly 100,000 people.

Sarah McGrath, executive director of Women for Women France, told DW that it was “unacceptable that Van de Velde was allowed to enter France to compete.”

McGrath, whose organization supports victims of gender-based violence, added that Van de Velde’s decision “to continue with this participation despite calls from survivor advocacy groups shows an attitude of entitlement and total indifference to the harm this causes to victims of rape.”

However, the Dutch sports federations continued to support Van de Velde, who returned to international competition shortly after his release from prison.

In a statement released ahead of the Games, the Dutch Olympic Committee said the player’s return to active play was thanks to a “specialised treatment programme” and that Van de Velde had “compliance with all strict risk assessment thresholds, controls and due diligence requirements”.

In order to ensure a “safe sporting environment for all participants”, he does not live with the other athletes in the Olympic Village and is exempt from his normally mandatory media duties.

Instead, they fell solely to Immers, Van de Velde’s 23-year-old teammate, who told reporters after the game that the pair were “disappointed” by the attention the incident had attracted.

“What is in the past is in the past,” said Immers. “He got his punishment and now he is really nice. For me this is a great example that (he) has grown and learned a lot. Of course, what happened in the past is not good.”

Olympic officials will not block Van de Velde’s participation

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has so far decided not to intervene and stated that the selection of its team is the responsibility of the Dutch Olympic Committee.

However, this happened despite the fact that the IOC, according to its own rules, has the final decision on the participants in the Games.

When asked by DW whether the IOC was satisfied and happy with the idea of ​​a convicted rapist taking part in the Olympic Games, the organization’s spokesman, Mark Adams, replied: “To call it satisfied and happy would not be accurate.”

Adams added: “This crime happened 10 years ago. A lot of rehabilitation has taken place and there are also very tight security measures in place. We believe that the explanation they (the Dutch Olympic Committee) gave us is correct and we will continue with the situation as it is.”

McGrath believes that the sporting authorities do not “fully understand what a serious crime the rape of a child is” and she questions their leadership and judgement.

“The International Olympic Committee must launch an investigation into how this could happen and use this as a wake-up call,” she said.

“Victims have to suffer from trauma for the rest of their lives”

Some argue that Van de Velde deserves a second chance because he has served his sentence and undergone “professional counselling”. In an interview with Dutch public broadcaster NOS in 2018, he described the incident as the “biggest mistake” of his life.

The Dutch Olympic Committee believes there is no danger of a relapse into its previous behaviour, and one of the committee’s spokespeople told reporters after the match against Italy that the incident should not be raised at the Olympics.

“The general issue of sexual convictions … is definitely a much bigger problem than sport,” said spokesman John van Vliet.

“But in his case, we are dealing with a person who was convicted, served his sentence and then did everything he could to be able to run again.”

McGrath, however, dismisses such views as “misguided.”

“Van de Velde was not convicted of car theft, but of raping a child,” she said. “A child who was so disturbed by the rape that he self-harmed.”

“Van de Velde’s participation makes it clear to survivors once again that a person’s career and reputation are more important than their trauma. Victims have to suffer from trauma for the rest of their lives, while perpetrators can have a successful career as a prominent representative of their country.”

As a sign of the seriousness of the situation, Immers expressed his concern for Van de Velde’s sacrifice when asked by DW how he thought she felt about watching a competition.

“Of course it’s not nice,” he said.

Edited by: Chuck Penfold