Star water polo player breaks silence after bombshell claims of underwater sex attack by teammate

A black water polo star has broken his silence after dropping bombshell sexual assault and racism claims against one of his white teammates.

Aidan Romain, now 18, sat down with Vanity Fair for an explosive interview, sharing shocking details of months-long harassment while he was at the elite Harvard-Westlake school in California.

“It was just straight, blatant racism,” he told magazine. The water polo prodigy recalled the first time he says he was sexually assaulted by Lucca Van der Woude, one of the people named in his lawsuit.

During one instance while he was eggbeating water, he felt someone grab his buttocks and insert a finger. The experience shocked him — even more so when he realized it was his teammate, Lucca.

“I was like, ‘Why did you do that? What are you doing?’” Aidan said. “He just laughed.”

Aidan also alleged multiple instances in which he was racially targeted and called slurs, including a shortening of the N-word.

According to the lawsuit, a player named Kim and Van der Woude “constantly dehumanized” him and used the slur regularly.

“They weren’t trying to hide it,” Aidan said. “When the lights would turn off, they would say, ‘Where’s Aidan?’ or ‘Where’s arbitrary black person?’”

He described the atmosphere as relentless and overtly racist. “It was just straight, blatant racism,” he said.

The complaint also alleges Kim and Van der Woude “whipped” Aidan in the weight room with a sports-equipment-grade jump rope in what the suit describes as “a re-enactment of slavery,” while saying, “Get back to work!”

Another incident allegedly occurred during a team trip to Spain with the Los Angeles Premier Water Polo Club, where players trained at Club Natació Barcelona.

According to the lawsuit, a teammate began chanting the N-word at another black player on the team bus.

When that player told him to stop, another teammate allegedly warned Aidan and the other player to keep quiet, telling them nobody would believe “two black players” over the rest of the group.

All of this has taken a toll on Aidan’s family.

“I was in shock that Aidan could have told people at the school and no one did anything,” Alex Romain, Aidan’s dad, said.

“No one said anything. No one told us.” He wiped his eyes. “We haven’t really slept since October 2023.”

The Romain family says the ordeal spanned more than two years. Aidan joined the varsity team in August 2022 and, in fall 2023, he and his parents formally reported racial abuse. Within days, the school concluded no assault had occurred.

On February 28, 2024, Van der Woude was arrested. On November 7, 2024, he admitted in juvenile court to sexual penetration with a foreign object against a minor under a plea deal; the charge involving Aidan was later dropped.

Now, Aidan and his family have filed a civil lawsuit against Harvard-Westlake, school officials and Van der Woude.

“What range of emotions? Ours? When we just found out our son was assaulted for 18 months? When you say you’re sympathetic to a range of emotions in a situation where at least two minors have been sexually assaulted by another person, it only confirms that your highest objective is not actually to protect all the minors in your care. Is there any other appropriate reaction other than outrage?” Alex told Variety.

Van der Woude maintains his innocence despite pleading guilty in criminal court.

“Lucca denies all the allegations against him as we understand were made by the Romain team,” his attorneys wrote in a letter to Condé Nast.

“There have been no witnesses to these claims and there were no complaints for over 18 months.”

Regarding the civil suit, his attorneys added: “We do not intend to litigate this matter in the media. Mr. Van der Woude’s denials and other responses will be clear and unambiguous in his defense to the Complaint at hand.”

The school — which has $832 million in gross assets and, according to its student newspaper, an endowment of around $250 million — has publicly denied wrongdoing and said it acted appropriately.

In a statement provided to Vanity Fair, the school said it “unequivocally disputes many of these allegations that mischaracterize facts and the school’s actions.”

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