Dutch Olympian convicted of rape breaks down in tears in first interview after controversial inclusion

Dutch beach volleyball Olympian Steven van de Velde, who was convicted in 2016 of raping an underage girl, cried in his first comments since being booed for his much-debated inclusion at the Paris Games.

Van de Velde, 30, did not speak to reporters during the Olympics and told Dutch outlet NOS that he considered quitting both before and during the Games due to the backlash.

“I thought, ‘I don’t want that. I’m not going to give others the power to decide they can bully me away or get rid of me,’” he said to the outlet, per the Associated Press .

Van de Velde’s participation in the 2024 Olympics became a controversial topic due to his criminal past.

He spent 13 months in prison for having sex with a 12-year-old girl after originally receiving a four-year sentence, per the AP.

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Van de Velde returned to the sport in 2017 and qualified for the Olympics alongside partner Matthew Immers.

Dutch Volleyball Federation general director Michel Everaert championed van de Velde’s inclusion, while the Dutch National Olympic committee said he met all the qualification requirements.

“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 said in a statement posted to volleyball.nl . ‘He is proving to be an exemplary professional and human being and there has been no reason to doubt him since his return. We fully support him and his participation in Paris, which he and Matthew have earned.”

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While he made the team, van de Velde acknowledged the reception that awaited him in Paris.

Van de Velde did not speak to reporters during the event at the Dutch Olympic Committe’s behest, while also staying outside the Olympic Village .

“I understand that in the run-up to the biggest sporting event in the world, this can attract the attention of international media,” Van de Velde said in the statement posted.

“I cannot reverse it, so I will have to bear the consequences. It has been the biggest mistake of my life.”

Van de Velde and Immers lost to Brazil in the round of 16 to end their Olympics run, with the AP reporting he was “subjected to a steady stream of hoots and whistles each time he served the ball.”

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He said those reactions affected the duo’s play.

“So there is certainly a very good chance that it has had an influence on our game,” van de Velde told NOS. “If I think about how much I was focused on peripheral matters — with how I want to be on the field instead of with tactics against the opponent — then you can say that that has had an influence, but there is no point in passing the buck.”

He understood why he received the reception he did.

“Do you want somebody with a history? Can he stand on the podium? That is a legitimate question to ask,” he told NOS.

He added: “I’m not the person I was 10 years ago.”

Van de Velde has since married Kim Behrens, a German volleyball player, and the pair has a son.

“I can’t change what people think of me,” van de Velde said to NOS. “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.”

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