To boycott the Olympics for allowing a rapist to compete

[Fluffyelephant]

I cannot believe in this day and age a convicted child rapist has been allowed to compete in the Olympics.

I know he was booed when he was competing but that's not enough. He never should have been allowed to compete in the first place and as a result I'm not watching any of the Olympics and encouraging others to do the same. I know that means other legitimate athletes will sadly be punished for the actions of one man and the decision makers for the Olympics - but what else can you do to send a message it's unacceptable?

For context, the volleyball player raped a 12 year old girl in Britain who he met online when he was 19 and was convicted in 2016. To add further insult to injury he only served 1 year of the sentence and seems to have gone on to marry a police officer!? He also has since said he's not a pedophile (although admits he did do what he was accused of) and that the media saying he is one is 'a load of nonsense'.

Unbelievable that this isn't considered more serious in a country like the Netherlands or by the Olympics itself.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/articles/cpd9e0r2dxmo

I'm afraid that's your view. If you offend and are convicted, you serve your sentence and your debt to society is paid. If the sentence is too lenient that's a valid point to raise and lobby form for reform.

😂😂

@capstix Nah.

If that's your argument then I feel confident that your view is not worth considering.

@capstix Well I can't argue with Stupid so I'm not going to bother.
I'm glad to see most on this thread agree with me 😊

I wonder if his victim and her family view his debt as being paid, seeing as they're, you know, members of society...

Considering he only served one year of a four-year sentence, his "debt to society" has not in fact been paid.

I'm glad you think they do. Have a nice day at McDonalds.

Ooh I wish 🤤

His own Wikipedia has been updated quite a bit as well!

Absolutely this, not sure why @capstix can't understand

Well that is not true, on dutch websites/forums there are loads of people who object to this.

It has no place ANYWHERE!!!

I'm not quite sure why you can't understand. When people are given a sentence, they are almost always released early by the state that sentenced them. At that point they have served their sentence and their debt to society is repaid. If you don't like that system you can lobby your MP for reform. But don't blame me for your lack of comprehension.

This is why I'm not going to watch any of the events this year, not even women's cycling and women's weightlifting that I have watched in the past.

He was sent back to the Netherlands to serve his sentence and they released him after a quarter of it was served. Not the two-thirds served over here if you behave yourself in jail, but one quarter. It's a pisstake.

But then the Dutch have prostituted women in shop windows in front of their brothels, so it's pretty clear what they think of women and girls.

He never served 4 years though. He served 12 months in a British prison before being transferred to a Danish prison where he was released after a month.

@capstix I understand perfectly well how the legal system works.
Sadly he didn't even serve the requisite 2/3 of the time was sentenced with.

What I and many other posters are trying to point out is that he has not 'repaid his debt to society'. Society includes his 12 year old rape victim - do you honestly believe he has repaid his debt to her by serving a measly 1 year of a pitifully lax sentence?

Oh look. A paedophile apologist has arrived.

Advanced Search that one. Also a "cocklodgers moving themselves in without asking if it's OK" apologist.

Well, he didn't even serve his sentence, but no, I wouldn't say his debt to society is repaid since thankfully most of society disagrees with you and doesn't think a prison sentence absolves him. He is a rapist, he always will be. He could serve 20 years in solitary confinement and he would still be a rapist. It wouldn't un-ruin his victim's life or make people feel safe around him.

The rules are down to the individual nations as to who they allow to compete, not the Olympic committee.

@JackRabbitSlim Well said.
@capstix is a disgusting unempathetic human not worth arguing with. At least he/she is a lone voice among sense.

If you commit rape you should not be granted the honour of representing your country on a world stage, regardless of what piddly sentence you have apparently served.

I absolutely agree that the volleyball player should not be there.

But to discard all the training, dedication and hard work of other competitors by boycotting everything else is a bit of an over reaction. They had no part in the decision to let him attend.