The story of Dutch volleyball player Steven van de Velde eloquently shows what world sport has recently turned into. Officials of the International Olympic Committee turned a blind eye to the fact that an athlete who was convicted of sexual assault against a 12-year-old girl will go to the Games, Sportbox.ru reports.
Eight years ago, the scoundrel was sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served only one. After that, van de Velde returned to beach volleyball and in 2024 met the conditions for admission to the Olympics in Paris.
At the same time, it should be understood that the competition will miss the silver medalists of the past Games, Russians Oleg Stoyanovsky and Vyacheslav Krasilnikov. Beach volleyball stars simply cannot perform at international starts, unlike the pedophile.
For the Dutch pervert in France created special conditions. He was allowed to live separately from everyone else, which in his case will certainly be a good thing. But IOC officials, as always, tried to pad the straw and smooth over the sharp edges.
“The country’s Olympic Committee regrets that many have been affected by the renewed focus on Steven van de Velde’s past. We are taking measures to create a friendly environment while participating in the Paris Games. Van de Velde has, of his own volition, wished to move into alternative accommodation and will be isolated from contact with the press during his stay at the Olympics,” the organization said in a statement.
At the same time, the cowardly IOC president Thomas Bach did not dare to speak publicly about the admission of an athlete with such a scandalous past, shifting the responsibility to the Netherlands. It’s not like criticizing Russia, you can get into trouble here.
“This is a matter for the NOC of the Netherlands. I have no personal position on this issue, it is their decision, which they are obliged to justify,” Bach said.
On July 28, van de Velde and his partner Matthew Immers played their first game at the beach volleyball court, which is located next to the Eiffel Tower. The Dutch Beach Volleyball Federation announced this meeting on social networks, but officials preferred to close comments to the post – apparently afraid to find out the true opinion of fans.
But the whole world saw how ordinary people feel about Steven. At the players’ introduction before the match, the stands welcomed the volleyball player with a loud roar. Throughout the match, the crowd cheered the actions of all the players, except van de Velde. He received only rare applause from his compatriots. On Steven’s first serves, the audience in general shouted under his arm to bring down the athlete.
Whether it was the pressure of the stands or a lack of skill, but the Dutch duo failed to start the Olympics with a victory, losing to volleyball players from Italy Adrian Carambula and Alex Ranieri, who were considered outsiders. The meeting ended with the score 1:2 (20:22; 21:19; 13:15). The crowd honored the winners with a standing ovation, including even van de Velde’s fellow countrymen.
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