The Olympics Are Giving Convicted Child Rapist Steven van de Velde Special Treatment
Not only have the 2024 Olympics Games allowed convicted child rapist Steven van de Velde to compete, but the Games are now giving him special treatment and allowing him to avoid contact with the media and fellow athletes.
Outrage arose when the Dutch Olympic Committee selected sex offender van de Velde to represent the Netherlands in the Paris Olympics’ men’s beach volleyball competition. In 2014, when van de Velde was 19, he began corresponding with a 12-year-old girl on Facebook, continuing their communication even when he learned her age. He eventually traveled from the Netherlands to England to meet her and raped her. He pleaded guilty to three counts of child rape and was sentenced to four years in prison, but only served one year. Almost immediately after his release, the Dutch Volleyball Association permitted him to resume his volleyball career without consequences and has adamantly supported his selection to the Olympics.
Multiple athlete advocacy groups penned an open letter asking the Olympics to disqualify van de Velde immediately, while a petition calling for his removal gained over 120,000 signatures. The letter and petition pointed out how he has shown no remorse for his actions and will not even admit that he committed a crime, describing what he did as merely a small mistake he made when he was a “teenager still figuring things out.” However, the Olympics failed to disqualify him. Now, not only is a convicted child rapist competing in the Paris Olympics, but he’s also getting special treatment.
The Olympics are trying to “protect” Steven van de Velde
Reports have arisen that the Olympics are going out of their way to accommodate van de Velde and ensure he’s separated from the media and fellow athletes. On the one hand, if he’s going to be allowed to be there at all, he should be separated from the other athletes for their protection, considering there are minor athletes participating in the Olympics. But what’s strange is that the Dutch are taking these measures to protect him. Viewers noticed that van de Velde has been excused from doing interviews or participating in any media, even though this is an obligation for the majority of Olympic athletes.
According to The Sun, Dutch aide John van Vliet said they were protecting him so he could “do his sport as best as possible.” However, it’s not just the Dutch. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) permitted the Netherlands to accommodate van de Velde and “create an environment which is best for them and their performance.” He was even provided with three bodyguards to escort him around the Games for protection. While most of the athletes are staying in the terrible living conditions of the Olympic Village because it’s the most affordable option, van Vliet confirmed that they had secured special sleeping quarters outside the Village for van de Velde.
The volleyball player even goes through separate entrances and exits as his team members to avoid the “Mixed Zone” where the press is stationed. However, the IOC defended this decision, claiming that while teams are required to go through the Mixed Zone and participate in media, not every individual team member has to do so.
It doesn’t matter how the IOC and Dutch try to spin it, though; they’re shielding van de Velde from the media to avoid him receiving even an ounce of scrutiny or discomfort for the serious crimes he has committed.
The special treatment van de Velde is getting even goes beyond Olympic officials. His teammate Matthew Immers has gushed over how van de Velde is now a good person and expressed confusion over why “there is so much attention” on his horrific crime. Meanwhile, although van de Velde received a smattering of boos during his first match at the Olympics, the boos were quickly drowned out by cheers as his home country celebrated him. Not only has the Olympics declared that a convicted child rapist can be celebrated as an Olympian, but that the Games will actually go out of their way to protect sex offenders.
Again, the only people who need protection are the women and minor athletes forced to compete with a convicted sex offender. For their protection, he should’ve been banned from the Olympic Village and left to find accommodations on his own instead of having the Dutch make special arrangements for him. He should always have a chaperone supervising him, not three bodyguards protecting him. It’s well-known that a trade-off for all athletes accepting the privilege of going to the Olympics is dealing with the scrutiny and pressure from the media, making it unclear why van de Velde is being given all the privileges and none of the drawbacks.
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