Steven van de Velde during the group stage of the 2024 European Beach Volleyball Championship.
CNN —
Dutch beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping a 12 year old girl, spoke out for the first time since controversy over his admittance into the Olympic Games.
Van de Velde, who is now 30 but was 19 at the time of the 2014 crime, was sentenced in 2016 to four years in prison, according toBritish media.He was released in 2017, and this year represented the Netherlands in beach volleyball at the Olympic Games in Paris, with the backing of the Dutch Volleyball Federation, Nevobo.
His inclusion in the Games sparked much furore on social media and was condemned by many as not being befitting of the Olympics.
“I definitely had a quitting-moment, both before the tournament and during it,” van de Velde said in an interview with Dutch national broadcaster NOS released on Tuesday.
“But I thought: ‘I’m not going to give others the power to bully me away or get me away,’” he added in the interview.
Van de Velde reached the round of 16 with teammate Matthew Immers before losing to Brazil and was booed on several occasions, according to media reports. Van de Velde said this “had an impact” on his performance, but understood why people have been speaking out at his inclusion in the Olympics.
“Do you want somebody with a history? Can he stand on the podium? That is a legitimate question to ask … [but] I’m not the person I was 10 years ago,” van de Velde added.
“I can’t change what people think of me,” he added. “Someone can hold me responsible forever for what happened and that’s OK because that’s what it is. It is their right, so I accept that.”
Safeguarding organizations ‘deeply concerned’
Ju’Riese Colon, CEO for the US Center for SafeSport previously said in a statement sent to CNN that the organization was “deeply concerned that anyone convicted of sexually assaulting a minor could participate in the 2024 Olympic Games.”
“With teams from around the world about to convene in Paris, many of which include minor athletes, this sends a dangerous message that medals and money mean more than their safety. Participation in sport is a privilege not a right,” she added ahead of his appearance.
Van de Velde's appearance at the Olympics drew criticism from victim support groups.
While refusing to discuss specific cases in terms of other countries’ choices for their national team, Australian chef de mission Anna Meares was one of many who spoke out about van de Velde’s selection: “If an athlete or staff member had that conviction, they would not be allowed to be a member of our team.”
“We have stringent policies on safeguarding within our team.”
“We know Steven’s history,” Michel Everaert, general director at Nevobo said in astatementat the time of van de Velde’s selection in late June.
Everaert said that the federation spoke extensively with the Dutch National Olympic Committee (NOC), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and van de Velde himself before his return to the sport.
“He was convicted at the time according to English law and he has served his sentence. From then on, we have been in constant contact with Steven, who has now been fully reintegrated into the Dutch volleyball community,” Everaert added in the statement.
Van de Velde served some of his sentence in England before being transferred to the Netherlands, where he was released and returned to playing in 2017, according to Nevobo.
Nevobo and the Dutch NOC said in a statement that they supported van de Velde, adding that they, along with the FIVB, had consulted experts who considered his chance of recidivism “nil.”
“After his conviction and sentence, Steven van de Velde returned to the highest level of sport step-by-step under the expert guidance of probation and coaching, among others. He has been participating in international tournaments again since 2017,” Nevobo said in a statement.
The Dutch NOC added that van de Velde returned to professional sport on the basis of its guidelines, “which sets out, among other things, the conditions under which athletes in top-level sports can return after a conviction.”
“Van de Velde now meets all the qualification requirements for the Olympic Games and is therefore part of the team,” the committee added.
The International Olympic Committee told CNN that the “nomination of individual team members, following qualification on the field of play, is the sole responsibility of each respective National Olympic Committee. Therefore, we would refer to the Dutch NOC for any further information.”
