Steven Van de Velde made the news years ago for a reprehensible act: he was convicted of raping a minor, for which he spent only 13 months in prison a decade ago, when he was 20 years old. Now 30, the Dutchman represented the Netherlands in beach volleyball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, being booed every day by the fans who do not forgive the abuse he committed on a 12-year-old girl.
The rejection of the Parisian public was present in every match, in every action that Van de Velde took part in. “I was quite hurt during the Olympic Games, but I didn’t want to let others bully me or make me quit the Games. It’s a shame what happened. It’s been ten years since that and I’ve played more than 100 tournaments. But I understand that I still people wonder if someone with a past like that can be allowed to compete,” the Dutchman told NOS.
“There will be people who will always point my finger at me for what happened. It’s okay, they are within their rights, but I try not to let it influence me,” Van de Velde added. “I know that this will haunt me throughout my life and I have to accept it because I made a mistake,” added the athlete, who slept outside the Olympic Village to, according to him, be calmer ahead of the competition, although other versions say that He was expelled by his country’s Olympic Committee.
Van de Velde was convicted in 2016 of raping a 12-year-old British girl when he was 19. He only spent 13 months in prison and then completed a rehabilitation program in his country. However, neither the fans in Paris nor the networks forgive the volleyball player, for whom more than 81 thousand people signed a petition to prevent those convicted of sexual abuse from participating in the Olympic Games.
For his part, the Dutchman dedicated himself to playing and turned the page. “I’m no longer that teenager, now I’m 30 years old, I’m married, I have a son and a very nice life. I don’t care what others or social networks say. But if this had caught me at 20 years old it would have been very different Even so, it had an impact when we played. I talked about it with my wife and asked that they not forward things to me. But I also had a lot of messages of support.
“Each game I heard more boos and I felt more upset and I even thought that there was no point in continuing to play. I asked myself ‘why am I doing this? And that made me stronger as a person and made me concentrate more,’ he commented. the most booed athlete at Paris 2024.
