Steven van de Velde, the Dutch beach volleyball player who served time in prison for rape, received a mixture of boos and applause when he was introduced before his opening match on Sunday at the Paris Games.
Van de Velde was greeted with only a handful of boos when he first took the sand for warmups, but the hooting was louder for the more formal pre-match introduction. His teammate Matthew Immers – and all the other players appearing at the Eiffel Tower Stadium so far in the Summer Games – received nothing but cheers.
The USA has a rapist running for president.
Running? He was a rapist when he was president, too. For 4 years.
Also gross.
He’s also a convicted felon.
As an American I’m mortified about that as well.
Most people hold the Netherlands to a higher standard. It’s like the “at least we’re not Alabama” of international politics.