Lucca van der Woude, the star water polo player accused in a lawsuit of racism and harassment by a former teammate, has been revealed to be the son of a famous Hollywood filmmaker.
In a lawsuit filed last week, Aidan Romain claimed the athlete hurled racial slurs at him and frequently stuck his finger in his bottom during practices at their Los Angeles private high school.
Highlights
- Lucca van der Woude’s father is a renowned Hollywood filmmaker who has worked on films like ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ and ‘Fast & Furious.’
- The water polo prodigy was arrested at age 17 on the campus of the prestigious Harvard-Westlake School.
- Aidan Romain, one of his former teammates, alleged van der Woude subjected him to frequent violent attacks in front of school authorities.
Image credits: Orange County Register/SCNG/Jeff Gritchen
Van der Woude and another white teammate allegedly whipped Romain with a jump rope while telling him to “get back to work.”
According to The Daily Mail, Lucca van der Woude is the son of film assistant director Thomas “Basti” van der Woude.
The filmmaker has worked on numerous famous movies, including Ocean’s Eleven, Castaway, Fast & Furious 5, Thor: The Dark World, as well as in the series Fear the Walking Dead.
He also won a Director’s Guild of America award in 2016 for Outstanding Directorial Achievement for the HBO film Bessie.
Image credits: Arsenio Waterpolo
The alleged perpetrator’s mother, Nilda, reportedly served as the water polo team’s logistics coordinator and assisted with communications with parents.
On February 27, Romain filed civil lawsuits against van der Woude, Harvard-Westlake School president Richard B. Commons, and school water polo coach Jack Grover.
The 18-year-old claims he was subjected to s*xually violent, racist behavior for more than two years, beginning when he joined the varsity team at age 14 in 2022 and ending in 2024, when van der Woude was arrested.
Romain’s complaint claims he endured repeated racial slurs from a group of white teammates led by van der Woude for years
Image credits: Getty/Frederick M. Brown
“He was s*xually a*saulted by an older teammate, Lucca van der Woude, who digitally penetrated him underwater,” the lawsuit states.
The athlete claims van der Woude and another white teammate named Connor Kim, who now plays for Harvard University, “constantly dehumanized” him and repeatedly called him the N-word.
“Connor Kim ridiculed [Aidan] over the fact that his ancestors had been enslaved and subsequently forced to pick crops,” the lawsuit states.
“They taunted him with racial slurs, calling him a n****r nearly every day for approximately five months.”
“They weren’t trying to hide it. When the lights would turn off, they would say, ‘Where’s Aidan?’ or ‘Where’s arbitrary black person?’” Romain told Vanity Fair.
Image credits: MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images
Romain has accused school authorities and his water polo coach of failing to take action after he and his family members reported the harassment multiple times.
He also said many of the racist comments directed at him were made in front of Harvard-Westlake School staff.
The teen and his parents first reported racial ab*se to the school in 2023, but authorities allegedly closed the investigation within days after a group of players denied his claims.
When Romain’s mother met with coach Grover to discuss the attacks against her son, the coach reportedly “promised to keep Romain safe and to protect him moving forward,” but Romain continued to suffer different attacks as he trained to advance his career in water polo.
Romain claims school officials and water polo coach Jack Grover did nothing despite multiple complaints from him and his family
Image credits: Aidan Romain
The lawsuit states that in February 2024, after water polo practice, an unnamed teammate cornered Romain in the campus showers and “brutally attacked him, grabbing his p*nis and striking him repeatedly in the testicles over a perceived verbal slight."
Romain, who has since left the US to train in Spain, said he reported the incident to the school at the time but was punished by being “suspended” and missing four games.
Van der Woude never attempted to hide his mistreatment of Romain, and even joked in front of coaches during a bout of conjunctivitis that “he had acquired the condition from digitally penetrating his teammates before rubbing his eyes,” the 54-page complaint reads.
The legal document states, “Time and time again, on Harvard-Westlake’s campus — in its pool and elsewhere — Lucca van der Woude approached Plaintiff from behind to ambush and digitally penetrate him.”
Van der Woude was arrested in 2024 after another parent reported his violent behavior against his son to the police
Image credits: usawaterpolo
In February 2024, van der Woude walked off campus in handcuffs as he was arrested for s*xually as*aulting another minor. He reportedly admitted in juvenile court to digital penetration against a minor as part of a plea deal.
Van der Woude has yet to pay the $50,000 in restitution that was ordered by the juvenile court, according to The Daily Mail.
Image credits: ABC
The school, a predominantly white high school located in Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles County, has denied wrongdoing, saying it treated reports of misconduct seriously and complied with mandatory reporting obligations.
In a statement, van der Woude’s attorneys have denied Romain’s allegations against him, declaring, “We do not intend to litigate this matter in the media.”
Romain moved to Spain with his mother after the traumatizing experience
Image credits: Linkedin
Romain, who is currently living in Barcelona, sought trauma therapy to address the damage after experiencing panic episodes and nightmares. Next year, he hopes to play for an Ivy League team that will bring him closer to his dream of representing his country at the Olympics.
Van der Woude transferred to Newport Harbor, a public school in Orange County, California, and continued competing for Team USA in junior events.
According to the lawsuit, Harvard-Westlake facilitated van der Woude’s transfer “with a clean record, as if nothing had ever happened and he had committed no crimes.”
The case involving Harvard-Westlake School students continues to spark outrage on social media
