A teammate of the convicted child rapist competing at this year's Olympic games has spoken out against criticism of him.
Steven van de Velde made his Olympics debut on Saturday (28 July) morning, which was met with a number of boos from the crowd as he competed against Italy in the preliminary phase of the men's beach volleyball.
Following a lot of criticism from sports fans after the Dutch athlete was selected, it was no surprise that large sections of the crowd weren't pleased with his inclusion in the games.
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In 2016, van de Velde was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to three counts of rape against a 12-year-old girl in August 2014.
Now 29, the athlete met her on Facebook and travelled to the UK from Amsterdam to meet her, knowing her age.
He was seen as an up and coming star in the sport, and after serving just 13 months of the four years, he was released from prison.
The world of beach volleyball welcomed van de Velde back, as the athlete was selected for the Dutch Olympics team after qualifying this summer, though they have defended their decision to select him for their team.
Having previously said that he is 'grateful' for a second chance at life, van de Velde has so far lost one and won one of his volleyball matches at the games.
But, his partner on the floor has recently come out and defended him, saying that he was 'disappointed' to hear the negative reactions.
Matthew Immers said about the boos: "I don’t want to say much about it. What was in the past is in the past. I can’t change his past. I’m here to play with him.
"We want to have good results here. There are a lot of people who support us. We do it for them.
"He has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. I’m OK with that. Mentally we are strong, I am strong, we will get through this together."
The 23-year-old added: "It is what it is. I was disappointed with the fans. We talked on the field and asked ourselves: what do we need from each other? It was worse than in the first game.
"We need each other on the field, the hugs, the cheering."
Dutch Chef de mission Pieter van den Hoogenband had previously defended the Dutch Olympic team's decision to select the convicted rapist.
He stated: "Steven has been active in international sports and the beach volleyball world for a long time. He has played in World Cups, European Championships and World Championships, but then you see that things are different around the Games. That things are exaggerated around the Games.
"We don’t have blinkers on and we don’t close our eyes. I’m the boss, responsible for the whole team, for the athletes. He’s just a member of the team, he qualified, and that’s why he deserves our support."
LADbible contacted the IOC for further comment.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact the Rape Crisis England and Wales helpline on 0808 500 222, available 24/7. If you are currently in danger or need urgent medical attention, you should call 999.
Topics: Olympics, Sport, Crime, World News
Joshua Nair