Warning: This article contains mentions of child abuse, please proceed with caution.
The Olympics are right around the corner but one of the biggest talking points in the run up to the games has to be the controversy surrounding athlete, Steven van de Velde.
Steven van de Velde is a Dutch Beach Volleyball player who first saw success after winning the Dutch National Championships in 2011. However, if you’ve heard his name in the last few days it’ll more likely be because he’s also a convicted child rapist. In 2014, at the age of 19, the athlete was convicted for having sex with a minor – the girl was 12 years old.
Despite his previous conviction, van de Helde has qualified for the Summer Olympics in Paris this year. Naturally there has been outrage from the general public, who are disgusted with the decision to allow him to play. Over on TikTok, one video posted by @kelsokru (Kelly) with almost two million likes, blasts the decision to allow him to compete. Her video has drawn a lot of attention to the subject and down in the comments people are equally as upset.
Despite the depraved nature of his crime van de Velde was only sentenced to four years in 2014, although he was out in 2017 according to an article from CNN. The athlete has tried to put his past behind him, referring to the trauma he put a literal child through as “the biggest misstep of my then young life,” I’m sure it must have been a very hard time for him. Let’s face it, there is nothing that can be said or done that could excuse such a terrible act, so why does it seem like he’s getting off so easily? Especially when others have done less and been punished more severely.
Is it white privilege?
In Kelly’s video she compares the situation to the Brock Turner case, another man who was let off far too easily. She implies that van de Helde got off with a relatively light sentence because of a certain privilege, “It’s almost like certain individuals just get to freely commit certain crimes and face little to no consequences. Because the people that are upholding that system are just like them.”
She has a point, even bringing up the decision to ban Sha’Carri Richardson from competing. In 2021, the Olympic sprinter was prevented from competing for cannabis use. Despite the fact that the substance doesn’t even improve she was banned, and yet, come July a literal child abuser will be walking around the Olympic village with other athletes, some of which will be minors.
It’s hard to refute Kelly’s point when the evidence shows how severe the Olympic committee has punished athletes before. Not only this, but they would be well within their rights to ban him as Kelly points out, “there is a morality clause in every sports federation,” they could enforce it and kick Steven van de Velde out, but it seems they aren’t going to.