Beach volleyball player convicted of rape plays for the Dutch team, not US | Fact check

The claim: Volleyball player convicted of rape is playing for US Olympic team

A July 26 Threads post ( direct link , archive link ) includes an image of a beach volleyball player beneath a headline stating he was convicted of rape and cleared to compete at the Olympic Games.

“And now he’s playing for the US Olympic team,” reads the caption on the post.

It was shared more than 50 times in five days.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

The beach volleyball player shown in the image, Steven van de Velde, competes for the Netherlands, not the U.S. He was convicted in 2016 of raping a child and served one year in prison.

Beach volleyball player competes for Netherlands, not US

The Threads post includes a cropped version of a Getty Images photo of van de Velde taken in October 2023.

Van de Velde was convicted in 2016 of raping a 12-year-old in England. He was sentenced to four years in prison, served 13 months and resumed his athletic career in 2017 after the Dutch Olympic committee said he met the necessary post-conviction conditions to return, The Associated Press reported .

He is not included on Team USA’s beach volleyball roster , and the Olympics website references him as a player for the Netherlands.

USA TODAY and other outlets including Reuters and the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf also identified van de Velde as a Dutch athlete.

Fact check : Image of Israeli swimmers spelling 'bring them home now' predates Paris Games

Van de Velde's participation in the Olympic Games has been controversial, and some in the crowd booed him as he was introduced at his opening match in Paris.

USA TODAY has debunked an array of claims surrounding the Olympics, including false assertions that a video shows a worship service in Paris after the Olympics opening ceremony, that an Algerian judo athlete withdrew from the competition before a match against an Israeli opponent and that an image shows China's Olympic uniform inspired by the Palestinian flag.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Olympics, accessed July 31, Steven van de Velde
• U.S. Volleyball, accessed July 30, Beach National Team
• De Telegraaf, July 28, The press comes out en masse for teammate Steven van de Velde: ‘The fuss affects me too’
• USA TODAY, July 25, Paula Radcliffe sorry for wishing convicted rapist ‘best of luck’ at Olympics
• Reuters, July 9, Dutch name convicted rapist to Olympic beach volleyball team; IOC says it had no role
• Getty Images, Oct. 11, 2023, FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here .

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta .

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Beach volleyball player convicted of rape plays for the Dutch team, not US | Fact check