July 29th 2024.
Steven van de Velde, a beach volleyball player from the Netherlands, made headlines when he was introduced before his first match at the Olympic Games. The reason? Van de Velde had previously served time in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old girl. As he stepped onto the sand, he was met with a mix of boos and applause from the crowd.
After losing his match against Italy, Van de Velde did not speak to reporters, breaking with the usual policy of the International Olympic Committee. His teammate, Matthew Immers, explained that Van de Velde wanted to focus on the game and rest his mind. Immers claimed he did not notice the crowd's reaction.
The decision to shelter Van de Velde from the media was made by the national Olympic committee and shared with the International Olympic Committee, according to Dutch team spokesman John van Vliet. When asked if they were protecting a convicted child rapist, Van Vliet responded, "We are protecting a convicted child rapist to do his sport as best as possible and for a tournament which he qualified for." He also stated that the issue of sex-related crimes is more important than sports.
In 2016, Van de Velde was convicted of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in England. He served a total of 13 months in prison in both Britain and the Netherlands. Now, as a 29-year-old Olympic rookie, he was greeted with only a few boos during warmups, but received a louder reaction during the formal pre-match introduction. In contrast, Immers and other players were met with cheers.
There were no signs of protest during the match, which took place on a sunny day at the iconic venue at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The controversy surrounding Van de Velde has caught his Dutch team off-guard, as his record was not an issue during the two-year qualifying period. However, it resurfaced after the team qualified for the Olympics.
Van Vliet expressed disappointment that the focus has been on Van de Velde's criminal history rather than his Olympic debut. He also stated that the International Volleyball Federation was unable to prevent Van de Velde from competing since he qualified in the usual way. In the past, Van de Velde has expressed remorse for his actions and called it "the biggest mistake of my life."
The International Olympic Committee has deferred to the Dutch and emphasized the extra safeguards in place. "Not to excuse it in any way but this took place, I think, 10 years ago and I think, as a general rule I think we need to allow for the possibility of rehabilitation," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. Van Vliet added that the decision not to make Van de Velde available to the media was to keep the focus on the athletic competition.
Immers, who also spoke imperfect English, declined to comment on Van de Velde's criminal history and instead focused on his current character. "I think Steven is a really good example from how he is right now," he said. "He's really, really kind. For me, that's a big example that you grew. You learned a lot from it. And of course, what happened in the past, I don't know. It's not good, of course. But right now we're trying to enjoy it and go for the next round."
The security for the match was the same as the previous day, when the competition began. The crowd was mostly focused on the entertaining skills of Italy's Adrian Carambula, who won the first set with his Skyball serve. In the end, Italy won the match with Van de Velde's next match scheduled for Wednesday against Chile. A second loss would make it difficult for the Dutch to advance to the knockout round.
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