Dutch Olympic beach volleyball player Steven van de Velde, who was convicted of raping an underage girl in 2016, broke down in tears in his first comments since being booed during his controversial selection for the Paris Olympics.
Van de Velde, 30, did not speak to reporters during the Olympics and told Dutch media outlet NOS that the backlash made her consider retiring both before and during the games.
“I thought, ‘I don’t want that. I’m not going to give other people the authority to intimidate me or remove me,'” he told media. According to the Associated Press.
Van de Velde’s participation in the 2024 Olympics has been a controversial topic due to his criminal history.
He initially received a four-year sentence but spent 13 months in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old girl, according to the Associated Press.
Van de Velde returned to competition in 2017 and qualified for the Olympics with partner Matthew Immers.
Dutch volleyball federation secretary general Michel Everaert supported van de Velde’s inclusion in the team, and the Dutch Olympic Committee said she met all the eligibility requirements.
“He was convicted under British law at the time and served his sentence. We have been in constant contact with Steven since then and he has now fully reintegrated into Dutch volleyball.” Everath said in a statement published on volleyball.nl.“He has proven himself to be an exemplary professional and person and we have no reason to doubt him since his return. We fully support him and Matthew in their successful participation in Paris.”
While Van de Velde was selected for the national team, he was also grateful for the welcome that awaited him in Paris.
Van de Velde did not speak to reporters during the competition and remained outside the athletes’ village, at the request of the Dutch Olympic Committee.
“We understand that with the world’s biggest sporting event approaching, this is likely to attract international media attention,” van de Velde said in a statement.
“I have to accept the consequences because there’s no going back. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
2024 Paris Olympics
Van de Velde and Immers’ Olympic successes ended when they lost to Brazil in the round of 16. The Associated Press reported that Immers “faced incessant boos and whistles every time he served.”
He said the reactions influenced the pair’s play.
“So it’s certainly very likely that it affected our game,” van de Velde told NOS. “Given how much we were focused on peripheral things, like how we wanted to be on the field, rather than tactics against the opponent, you could say it did have an impact, but there’s no point in shifting the blame.”
He understood why he had received such a warm welcome.
“Do you want someone with a pedigree? A podium? That’s a natural question,” he told NOS.
He added: “I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago.”
Van de Velde later married German volleyball player Kim Behrens, and the couple have one son.
“I can’t change what people think about me,” van de Velde told NOS. “Someone may hold me responsible forever for what happened, but that’s fine, because that’s their right, so I accept it.”
