Adventures of a Cat Lady

SOME READERS MAY FIND THIS POST DISTRESSING, AS IT CONTAINS DISCUSSION OF CHILD RAPE.

Have you ever considered boycotting the Olympics?

I think it’s fair to say that most of the population like the Olympics, from being massive fans attending the games to following the games on tv or reading it on news outlets. Generally the Olympics have the feel good factor and people see it as a positive thing. This is not to say that the Olympics are not without controversy….

Did you know…. that there is no official Olympic rule that says athletes cannot have a criminal background? Despite the Olympics projecting positivity from respect to solidarity and having a code of conduct, they have no rule which specifically states that athletes are not allowed to have a criminal record. This is left to each countries olympic committee to decide who should represent them. It seems some countries have much more stringent rules than others…

I understand there is the argument that if someone has made a ‘mistake’ but served their time, they should get a second chance…. However, some crimes are far more serious than others.

The Netherlands is sending over 276 athletes to the Olympic Games in Paris next week. And this is where the controversy begins, before the games have even begun.

Sent to jail for raping a child, Dutch beach volleyball player qualifies for Paris Olympics representing the Netherlands

This Dutchman was jailed for raping a child, now he gets to represent the NL at the Olympics

International victim organisations want Dutch convicted child rapist banned from Olympics

I find it strange that this topic is being somewhat ignored in the Netherlands but is being picked up by international news outlets, which honestly I am grateful for. I believe this story needs much more attention and rules set by the Olympics that they do stand by convinced child rapists.

In 2014, Steven van de Velde (19 at the time), a Dutch olympic beach volleyball player admitted three counts of rape against a 12-year-old British girl he met on Facebook. At the time, he admitted was aware of the girl’s age, having had conversations on social networking sites with her over a period of time. Van de Velde was sentenced to four years, which he was allowed to serve in the Netherlands.

However, under Dutch law, van de Velde was not convicted of rape but of a much lesser crime of “sex with a minor”. This allowed his time to prison to be reduced from 4 years, to 1 year.

Despite now being a convicted child rapist, this has not deterred the Dutch olympic committee(Dutch Olympic committee and sports federation NOC*NSF) . In fact, they have doubled down on media and their response, since his release. After his release, NOC*NSF told the BBC that Van de Velde received professional counseling and demonstrated “self-insight and reflection.” They also said his return to sport met the Dutch Volleyball Federation’s integrity guidelines, and he has met “all qualification criteria for the Olympic Games,”.

As international news outlets have been highlighting this story more and more in the lead up to the Olympics, the NOC*NSF have continued in their solid support of van de Velde. They are not even going out of their way to protect him (!!!!). They have announced that he will not stay with other athletes in the but rather outside of the olympic village. They have also announced that he will not be speaking to any reporters at all. This is a convenient way to stopping reporters talking to him or him getting ‘awkward’ questions.

From a personal perspective, I think its disgusting and am truly shocked that the Olympics allow this. Forget the Dutch NOC*NSF and them taking the decision that it’s ok, the IOC should have stepped in and said that the olympics has no place for a convicted child rapist.

Now is the time to boycott the Olympics….
My only hope/request is that when he is participating that hes boo’d off the court. That other people around the world are as disgusted and against him being in the olympics as I am. I encourage everyone to boycott the Dutch team this year, not just volleyball. The Dutch NOC*NSF need to know that this is not acceptable and it affects the WHOLE team, not just one guy or his partner. Alternatively, please boycott the Olympics all together, I will be. The IOC needs to know that its not ok to accept a convicted child rapist as an olympic athlete. This is setting a very poor example, that I am not prepared to accept.