Hollywood Director’s Son Admits Racial Slur Use in Deposition
A former water polo player admitted to sexual assault and using racial slurs against a Black teammate, yet was allowed to compete and win a championship that may now be stripped.
Lucca Van der Woude, whose father Thomas works in the film industry, was expelled from the prestigious Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles following his arrest in February 2024 over allegations of underwater sexual assaults on fellow player Aidan Romain.
According to Nina Joudeh writing in New York Post, explosive deposition testimony given by Van der Woude on August 6 has exposed the extent of both the sexual misconduct and racial abuse he subjected his African-American teammate to during their time at the elite private school.
In the sworn testimony, Van der Woude admitted the school banned him from campus following his detention and refused to allow him to return for either classes or sports. Despite this, his athletic career suffered no immediate setback.
He transferred to Newport Harbor High School before the 2024-25 academic year began, was cleared to compete, and went on to win the CIF Southern Section Open Division championship with his new team.
The title came just nine days after Van der Woude admitted in LA County Juvenile Division Court on November 7, 2024, to sexual penetration with a foreign object, specifically digital penetration against a minor.
Championship Now in Jeopardy
The revelations in the August deposition have raised serious questions about whether Van der Woude should have been permitted to compete for Newport Harbor at all, and whether the school could ultimately be stripped of its championship title.
CIF rules explicitly bar students who leave a school for disciplinary reasons from competing at their new institution.
Van der Woude also admitted under oath that he used the N-word while in high school, including at school and during water polo practices, and for the most part escaped punishment for saying it.
When asked directly by Romain’s attorney Daniel P. Watkins whether he had ever used the racial slur, Van der Woude responded affirmatively. Asked whether he had ever been disciplined for saying it in high school, he answered in the negative.
Pattern of Racial and Sexual Abuse
The admissions mark the latest development in the scandal surrounding the former US national youth team star, who has been accused by Romain of repeatedly sexually assaulting him and subjecting him to sustained racist abuse.
Romain’s lawsuit alleges Van der Woude grabbed his buttocks and digitally penetrated him during attacks underwater during team activities.
Van der Woude recalled apologizing to Romain over his use of the slur. Asked why he believed an apology was necessary, he said it was because it offended Romain’s race and culture. He confirmed he knew this because Romain is African-American.
He claimed he apologized to Romain face-to-face over lunch and believed the two had patched things up, adding that he thought they were friends again.
Romain’s allegations describe a far more disturbing and systematic pattern of abuse.
His lawsuit accuses Van der Woude of repeatedly sexually assaulting him and alleges he and another teammate subjected Romain to months of racial harassment and intimidation.
Van der Woude and the other player allegedly whipped Romain with a sports-equipment-grade jump rope in the weight room in what the suit describes as a re-enactment of slavery, while telling him to get back to work.
The suit alleges the pair taunted Romain with racial slurs and called him the N-word nearly every day for roughly five months.
According to court documents, Romain previously stated the abuse was open and brazen. When the lights would turn off, the perpetrators would say where’s Aidan or where’s arbitrary black person, he recounted.
School Accused of Cover-Up
Romain alleges Harvard-Westlake officials were told by him and another student that Van der Woude had digitally penetrated them but failed to contact law enforcement or child protective services as required by law.
Van der Woude was later ordered by the juvenile court to pay Romain’s family $49,266 in restitution, according to an order reviewed by the Orange County Register.
The testimony comes as Van der Woude’s legal team is separately attempting to strike dozens of allegations from Romain’s lawsuit.
Promising Career Derailed
After transferring to Newport Harbor, Van der Woude continued representing Team USA internationally and, in December 2024, mentored some of the country’s top 13- and 14-year-old players at a USA Water Polo camp held at a prestigious Olympic training site.
The scandal has already derailed one major step in Van der Woude’s once-promising water polo career. He had committed to UCLA, but the university rescinded his provisional admission after a March 2025 report by the Orange County Register detailed his arrest and the allegations against him.
Van der Woude instead played water polo at Golden West College last season.
With information from New York Post
