The Convicted Rapist Competing in the Paris Olympics

A lot of outrage has been expressed about this year's Olympics in Paris. Par for the course, really, people in the U.S. often find themselves offended by other cultures and the Games introduce us to many cultures. From meltdowns over a historical piece of art to hysteria surrounding misgendered athletes, I've seen some extremely inaccurate accusations on my social media feeds.

It was not until today that I was made aware of Steven van de Velde. Have you heard of him? He is a Dutch beach volleyball player, but more shockingly, he is a convicted child rapist. You read that right, not accused....convicted. Where's the outrage on this?

In 2014, van de Velde, then 19, flew from the Netherlands to England and proceeded to rape a 12-year-old girl with whom he had been corresponding. In 2016, he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment after being convicted of the charge of "rape of a child under the age of 13." He served 12 months in prison in the U.K. and was then transferred to the Netherlands. After serving one additional month, his offense was re-classified under Dutch law as "committing indecent acts," his sentence was reduced, and he was released.

The Dutch Olympic committee has said that van de Velde has met the necessary post-conviction conditions and that they stand behind their decision to have him represent their country in the Olympic Games.

So, here's the thing. There's nothing keeping van de Velde from competing. It's not against the rules, he's free to play to his heart's content. What I wonder is, should there be protections in place to keep convicted child rapists out of the Game?

The spirit of the Olympics revolves around the camaraderie of nations, the Games are meant to unite us in celebration. We've seen evidence of this when North Korean and South Korean athletes posed for selfies together.

Is allowing a convicted child rapist to compete defeating that spirit?