The 2024 Olympic Games cannot be without scandals. This time the most talked-about topic was the participation in a beach volleyball tournament of Steven van de Velde, who eight years ago was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl. The Dutch Volleyball Federation (NEVOBO), the NOC of the Netherlands and the IOC not only see no problem with such an athlete travelling to the Games, but also support him in every possible way.
Is this even normal?
“The biggest mistake of my life”
Steven van de Velde was never considered a potential champion, but in 2016 everyone was sure that the athlete had simply buried his career. A 21-year-old volleyball player was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl. Van de Velde met the girl on social media, convinced her that he was madly in love with her and came to see her in England. And then he caught the moment when her parents were not at home, approached her, got her drunk and committed a crime.
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The athlete finally appeared in court: van de Velde said that he initially knew the boy’s age and admitted his guilt for pedophilia. Stephen was sentenced to four years in prison. He spent 12 months in an English prison and was then deported to his native Netherlands. And there the volleyball player was quickly released for good behaviour.
“I can’t change what happened, so I’ll have to take responsibility for my actions. It was the biggest mistake of my life,” the volleyball player said.
In 2017, van de Velde returned to the international scene and suddenly burst into the world’s top 10. And on June 27, news broke that Stephen would compete at the Paris Olympics. The athlete met the selection criteria and made it to the Games as part of a beach volleyball duo.
Stephen van de Velde
Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images
“He is part of the team”
This story immediately sparked a storm of public discontent: people called for the paedophile not to be allowed to attend the Games. However, NEVOBO and the NOC of the Netherlands responded by saying that they did not see a single reason that could prevent a reformed athlete who had served his sentence from going to the Olympics.
“We know Stephen’s story. Before he expressed his desire to return to beach volleyball, we spoke a lot with him and also with the Dutch NOC. He was found guilty under English law and served his sentence. Since his release we have been in constant contact with Steven, who has now 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 (Matthew Immers, van de Velde’s partner, Championship Note) deserve,” said Nevobo CEO Michel Everaert.
“Van de Velde meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is part of the team,” said the Dutch NOC.
The IOC also did not oppose van de Velde’s participation in the Olympic Games.
“This whole story is exaggerated and far-fetched. I don’t want to discuss the details of his personal life. It’s important to remember that we are all one big Olympic family. Sport should bring people together, not separate them, no matter what they are. After all, this is not a school mathematics Olympiad – there are no 12-year-old athletes here! I don’t want to discuss this topic any further,” said IOC President Thomas Bach.
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“I feel a huge sense of gratitude. I got a second chance from my parents, my friends, acquaintances and colleagues who accepted me again after the biggest mistake of my then young life. I am grateful for that. I am also grateful to the Dutch Volleyball Federation because they have once again offered me a future in this wonderful sport. But I also remember the teenager I was – insecure, unprepared for life as a top athlete and unhappy inside because I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted,” van de Velde responded to his admission.
“This is a classic pedophilia argument.”
Such ruthless words from officials and Stephen’s equally callous statement further outraged the public. There was even a petition on the portal change.org calling for the volleyball player convicted of pedophilia to be banned from the Olympics. The appeal was signed by tens of thousands of people around the world. However, petitions on this portal have no legal force, so they cannot influence the decision on the admission of an athlete. Nevertheless, it is a great way to express discontent and draw attention to the problem.
Several organisations working with victims of violence also spoke on the subject of Van de Velde’s speech at the Olympic Games.
“If you are a white Adonis, you have less responsibility. If you really regret it and believe that this is the biggest mistake of your life, then you have to prove why you deserve a second chance. For example, by collaborating with organisations that fight against sexual violence. I don’t understand how we can tolerate this in the Netherlands after the MeToo movement. We are talking about child abuse here,” explained the founder and director of the Safe Space club, Sarah Alaoui, to the New York Times.
“This shows the shocking tolerance we have for child sexual abuse. His lack of remorse and empathy for the victim is appalling. It is deeply disturbing that his peers and the Olympic Committee are promoting him to young audiences as an athlete to look up to,” said Survivors Trust, a British organisation that supports rape victims.
There are clear problems with inclusion in the 2024 Olympic Games in France:
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“I am deeply concerned that a man convicted of sexually assaulting a minor is being allowed to compete in the 2024 Olympics, which will feature many underage athletes. Being an athlete at the highest level is a privilege, not a right,” Ju’Reese Colon, executive director of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, shared his opinion in an interview with CNN.
“What is it like to rape a little girl if you are actually very good at sports? I would like to know how the Dutch federation can think that Steven van de Velde meets the requirements to be an Olympic athlete. His lack of remorse, his insistence that he cannot be blamed, deeply disturbs me. This is a classic paedophilia argument,” wrote lawyer Anne Olivarius on her social media page.
The chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sport, Dmitry Svishchev, did not ignore the situation.
“The International Olympic Committee is no longer at all concerned about its reputation and attitude towards the Olympic Games. I wonder what it is like for people to live in the same village with a person prone to violence. Apparently they decided to turn the Olympic Games into a rehabilitation centre. They are simply killing Pierre de Coubertin’s creation,” TASS quotes Svishchev as saying.
Stephen van de Velde
Photo: Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Security Treatment
Van de Velde’s participation in the Olympics cannot but be a cause for concern. Of course, every person deserves a second chance. But what possibilities can we talk about when it comes to paedophilia? It is one thing when a person breaks the law a little: he misbehaves, gets into a fight or is caught committing a financial crime. However, here we are talking about a serious crime, which clearly had a strong impact on the life of that 12-year-old girl.
The Dutch National Council has consulted with specialists who say that the possibility of a relapse is zero.
“Stephen is not a paedophile. Does he really think that the Dutch NOC will send someone to Paris who really represents a threat? No, he is not a threat. We are taking steps to ensure that everyone can focus on the sport, on the Games, and not on the past of this athlete who has played in every international tournament since 2018.
“Van de Velde fully complied with all requirements and passed a strict due diligence check. Experts said there was no risk of relapse. Van de Velde has always been transparent about the case, which he calls the biggest mistake of his life. He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions. He spoke openly about the personal transformation he experienced as a result,” the Dutch NOC responded to a letter from one of the concerned fans.
The youngest participants in the Games are not even 14 years old:
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But for some reason no one is talking about girls and minors who might feel nervous about being in the same Olympic village as a paedophile. Thomas Bach claimed that there will be no 12-year-old schoolgirls at the Games. But he was wrong. The youngest athlete at the 2024 Olympics, Chinese Zheng Haohao, is 11 years old. He will compete in skateboarding competitions. And Haohao is not the only child at the Games.
Each of the young athletes will be concerned not only about the upcoming competitions, but also about their own safety. It seems that the officials of the Dutch NOC, the IOC and NEVOBO would see the situation differently only if their daughters were in the same place as the rapist.
But the worst thing about the whole situation is not even this: Stephen did not really suffer any punishment and has now become one of the Olympic heroes. Anyone who has committed such a serious crime should not be rehabilitated in the eyes of the public. He should be under constant control of law enforcement and not be entitled to various state privileges. But instead, van de Velde fully regains his “good” name and receives a nice bonus – a trip to the Olympics. If he steps onto the podium, Stephen will become a national hero.
Online broadcast of the second day of the 2024 Olympic Games:
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At the Olympic Village, Stephen will live separately and will also be under constant supervision. At least there is something positive in this situation.
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