[4] López is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas next to Houston, where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was a member of the National Honor Society.

Both López and his siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and Diana (women's featherweight), made sports history in April 2005 when they claimed a world championship title at the same event (2005 World Taekwondo Championships) with their oldest brother, Jean, participating in the feat as their coach.

[9] On June 8, 2017, USA Today published a news items saying that López had been accused of sexual assault and drugging of various female athletes.

[10][11] The accusations claimed there was a repeated pattern of behavior of abuse allegedly perpetrated by López and his brother, Jean Lopez.

[13] In December 2022, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lifted the lifetime ban for sexual abuse against Steven Lopez, his brother, and his coach.