Volleyball player Steven van de Velde was among the most controversial figures of the recently-concluded Summer Olympics in Paris.
While the two-week event was defined by some drama within the sporting landscape and out of it, his story was even more eye-opening.
The 30-year-old beach volleyball star from the Netherlands was convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl back in 2016. The crime took place back in 2014 when he was 19.
It led to many questioning why he was able to even participate in the games. Van de Velde dodged media throughout the Summer Olympics in Paris, not wanting to talk about the elephant in the room.
That changed on Tuesday, with the Olympian showing a ton of emotion after being booed in Paris.
“I did something wrong, ten years ago. I have to accept that,” van de Velde said, via The Sun. “But hurting people around me – whether it’s Matthew, my wife, my child. That just goes too far for me. That’s definitely a moment where I thought, is this worth it?”
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Van de Velde did not sleep with other athletes at the Olympic Village. Instead, he was kept away from them at a separate hotel.
It led to many wondering why he was being given this treatment after being jailed for such a horrific crime.
“How did we get here? How did we get to a place where raping a child is seen as less important than the medal someone might win at the Olympics? It’s just extraordinary,” CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales Ciara Bergman said back in late July, via The Guardian.
“I think there has to be some kind of investigation into this and how it was allowed to happen. It has to be a moment for real thinking and real change.”
The Dutch Olympic Committee pushed back against this idea in defending its decision to include van de Velde.
“Van de Velde has consistently remained transparent about the case which he refers to as the most significant misstep of his life,” the committee said, via BBC. “He deeply regrets the consequences of his actions for those involved.”
Even with the Summer Olympics a thing of the past, this controversy is not going to die down.
Here is his full interview.