He Netherlands Olympic Committee is taking steps to mitigate the impact of including a convicted rapist on the team to participate in Games in Parisa move that has caused consternation among some women’s defense groups, according to the head of the mission this Sunday, Pieter Van den Hoogenband.
Steven Van de Velde29 years old, was sentenced to four years in prison Britain in 2016 after raping a 12-year-old girl two years earlier, when he was 19.
After serving part of his sentence there, he was transferred to the Netherlands and his sentence was adapted to the standards of Dutch law. Van de Velde has been back competing in beach volleyball since 2017 and was named to the Olympic team last month.
The Netherlands Olympic Committee, in consultation with Van de Velde and his partner Matthew Immerstook steps to quell any resentment of his involvement by moving him to alternative accommodation in Paris and banning him from speaking to the press.
“He will not ignore the importance (of his conviction), but we have to respect him and help him as a member of the team so that he can perform,” Van den Hoogenband said on television in his country.
Van den Hoogenband said Van de Velde is trying to stay focused ahead of her Olympic tournament debut at the Games, scheduled for next Sunday.
Kate Searyco-founder and director of Kyniska Advocacywhich works for the protection and respect of women in sports, said that “their participation sends a message to everyone that sports expertise is above crime.”
Van den Hoogenband said the wave of criticism surprised him, because Van de Velde had been active for a long time, also playing in international competitions.
“You see that things are different and magnified around the Games,” Van den Hoogenband said.
The speaker of International Olympic Committee, Mark Adams, reiterated on Saturday that the body had no role in the decision to select Van de Velde for the Games. The selection of athletes for the Olympic Games is up to each national committee.
“They issued a statement and made it very clear that many additional special measures are being implemented,” Adams told a news conference in Paris.
Source: La Verdad
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