Steven van de Velde, 29, is one of the stars of men’s beach volleyball in the Netherlands and is due to make his debut at the Paris Olympics on 28 July. It is the chance of his sporting life, but a decade ago he was sentenced to four years in prison in the United Kingdom for rape. He had sexual relations with a 12-year-old girl, a crime that the Dutch justice system considered child abuse. He spent 13 months in prison and today has the support of the Dutch Olympic Committee, which considers him rehabilitated. On the contrary, several organisations of victims of sexual violence in sport have asked that the athlete be rejected.
Van de Velde’s case is being treated in different ways inside and outside the Netherlands. At least for the moment. The Dutch Olympic Committee has expressed regret in a statement “at the impact of this new, unexpected attention on anyone struggling with trauma caused by sexual offences and transgressive behaviour” and has taken measures to avoid any surprises during the Games. Among other things, and at the request of the athlete himself, he will stay in alternative accommodation to the Olympic village. He will not speak to the press during his stay in Paris either.
For three organisations supporting victims of sexual abuse in sport, his presence at the competition violates the core values of the Olympics. Spokespeople for the Sport & Rights Alliance (a global association), Kyniska Advocay (UK) and The Army of Survivors (USA), have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the athlete from participating. “We are not against sport playing a role in the rehabilitation of perpetrators. We simply do not believe that the most prestigious sporting venue in the world is suitable for that,” they said in a statement obtained by the Dutch newspaper. Trouw.
Steven van de Velde told his country’s public television, NOS, in July what he did when he was 19. He describes it as the “biggest mistake” of his life. “I can’t change it and it comes up again in these circumstances,” he says, while saying he understands the commotion. In 2014 he met a British girl on Facebook and they started talking. At first she told him she was 16. When he found out she was 12, he cut off communication. Later, however, he took a plane to see her and “we had sex and I can think about it a thousand times, but I made the wrong decision,” he says. At that time, “I was training all day and I was surrounded by older athletes,” he says, explaining his situation.
In the UK, sex with a minor is considered rape, with or without consent. The athlete was sentenced to four years in prison and served 12 months there. He was then transferred to his homeland. Since the Dutch courts classified the incident as child abuse, he spent another month behind bars. He was then released on bail and required to undergo a rehabilitation course supervised by professionals.
The Dutch Olympic Committee believes that there is “zero chance of a repeat offence”. Van de Velde now has a girlfriend and has participated in European and world championships in his speciality without any problems in recent years. Matthew Immers, his teammate in this Olympic beach volleyball tournament, finds it “shameful that people talk like this about his colleague”. In July he said that he knows “the Steven of today and he is a good teammate and that is the most important thing for me”. The former swimmer Pieter van den Hoogenband, Olympic medallist at the Sydney Games (2000) and in Athens (2004), is now the chef de mission for his country in Paris, and has expressed “surprise at the commotion caused”. “We are not closing our eyes either. It is not that. He has qualified and deserves our support”, he said.
The Netherlands Volleyball Federation (Nevobo) believes that Van de Velde “made a huge mistake and will carry it with him for the rest of his life”. It also recalls that “he regrets what he did and regrets the suffering caused, and accepts the consequences of his actions”. They consider that “he has grown and changed his life positively”. For its part, the IOC has recalled that the selection of athletes is up to each country. “I understand that all this can attract the attention of the international media on the eve of the biggest sporting event in the world”, admitted the athlete.
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