Olympic nner Nick Symmonds on why he supports gay rights and advice for athlet Sochi - Outsports

Contents:

• U.S. NNER NICK SYMMONDS, GAY RIGHTS CHAMPN, TO RETIRE
• OLYMPIC NNER NICK SYMMONDS ON WHY HE SUPPORTS GAY RIGHTS AND ADVICE FOR ATHLET SOCHI
• IN MOSW, AMERIN RUNNER DEDIT HIS MEDAL TO GAY FRIENDS
• US ATHLETE NICK SYMMONDS SPEAKS OUT AGAST RSIA'S ANTI-GAY LAW MOSW
• 'BRAD PT' OF TRACK, NICK SYMMONDS DATG RUMORS WH PARIS HILTON: DEDITED MEDAL TO GAY COMMUNY
• AMERIN RUNNER WS RSIA, CRICIZ ANTI-GAY LAW
• NICK SYMMONDS BLASTS RSIA ON GAY RIGHTS AT MOSW TRACK CHAMPNSHIP
• NICK SYMMONDS, U.S. OLYMPICS RUNNER, SLAMS RSIA'S ANTI-GAY LAW
• RUNNER NICK SYMMONDS DIT WORLD TRACK SILVER MEDAL RSIA TO HIS GAY, LBIAN IENDS
• RSIA, SCRAP YOUR ANTI-GAY LAWS

U.S. NNER NICK SYMMONDS, GAY RIGHTS CHAMPN, TO RETIRE

Amerin Olympic track star Nick Symmonds won queer hearts the world over earlier this week when he dited his silver medal on anti-gay Rsian soil to his LGBT iends back home. He’s pretty much perfect, you gays.

Olympic sprter and renowned LGBTQ, who protted Rsia’s anti-gay laws, by ditg his silver medal to gay fans, has surprised many clarg Semenya should not be able to n agast women. In a 2014 terview wh Outsports, Nick Symmonds explaed why he supports gay rights and the importance of out gay role mols sports. “For me, ’s not that I’m so pro-gay marriage.

OLYMPIC NNER NICK SYMMONDS ON WHY HE SUPPORTS GAY RIGHTS AND ADVICE FOR ATHLET SOCHI

I would be fe if the ernment said that gay people nnot marry, but that se they have to say that heterosexuals n’t marry eher. This week, Chand me out as gay. Middle distance nner Nick Symmonds has always been one of my favore athlet for not beg aaid to speak out on a host of issu, pecially his support for gay rights.

In 2013, after Rsia had passed a seri of anti-gay laws, Symmonds won a silver medal the 800 meters at the World Track Champnships beg held Mosw.

“But when I was out Rsia and saw firsthand how gays were treated, the streets and beg shoved to the ground jt for kissg one another or holdg hands, the amount of hatred and tolerance that was actually out there, I said this is jt so wrong. “I would say that beg openly gay track and field is gog to be a tough road at tim.

IN MOSW, AMERIN RUNNER DEDIT HIS MEDAL TO GAY FRIENDS

But we need people to bravely e out and show people that jt bee you're gay don't mean you n't n fast. But ultimately the biggt thg we n do is have role mols who are gay the sports we like to look up to. He ma ternatnal news this past Augt after wng the silver medal at the World Track and Field Champnships Mosw, then ditg his medal to his gay fans as a way to prott Rsia's new anti-gay laws.

I was foced on why he has bee such an outspoken champn of gay rights. As [gay rights] beme more and more an issue, my fay and I had discsns about how we felt about this.

For me, 's not that I'm so pro-gay marriage. I would be fe if the ernment said that gay people nnot marry, but that se they have to say that heterosexuals n't marry eher. I've had gay iends growg up.

US ATHLETE NICK SYMMONDS SPEAKS OUT AGAST RSIA'S ANTI-GAY LAW MOSW

Gog to a Catholic high school Boise, of urse my gay iends weren't out necsarily. As I got to llege [Willamette Universy Oregon] and moved to more liberal Oregon, I had many out gay iends. Gay and straight people are all the same, so why they would they be treated differently the ey of the ernment, I never unrstood.

Outsports: You also spoke out agast the Boy Suts of Ameri and their stand on gay suts and sut lears. Nick Symmonds: It really started when I was readg an article on how the Boy Suts of Ameri were discrimatg agast gay suts and lears and as an Eagle Sut I was really shocked. Outsports: They are now allowg young gay suts, but you n't be a sut lear and be openly Symmonds: I thk that's absurd.

Outsports: After you won the silver medal Mosw, you publicly dited your medal to to gay fans.

'BRAD PT' OF TRACK, NICK SYMMONDS DATG RUMORS WH PARIS HILTON: DEDITED MEDAL TO GAY COMMUNY

Yet days before, you wrote that even though you opposed Rsia's anti-gay laws, you would rema silent out of urty. But when I was out Rsia and saw firsthand how gays were treated, the streets and beg shoved to the ground jt for kissg one another or holdg hands, the amount of hatred and tolerance that was actually out there, I said this is jt so wrong.

Nick Symmonds: I spoke wh some gay Rsians there who said that their own experience, the way they are beg treated currently is worse than the way they were treated unr munist le, which I thk is tellg. I believe I said my origal blog for "Runner's World" that when I feated a Rsian on the track, I would silently dite to my gay iends back home. ' I said no, what I'd like to do is dite this medal to all my gay and lbian iends back home.

AMERIN RUNNER WS RSIA, CRICIZ ANTI-GAY LAW

I thk that we n fd ways to have our voic heard and still get our jobs done as profsnal I me out and protted the anti-gay propaganda laws of Rsia, everyone said thank you for takg a stand. Outsports: You are of a generatn where gay rights are wily accepted, cludg same-sex marriage. Yet at the 2012 London Gam, only 23 athlet were openly gay or lbian, three of them men.

Why do you thk gay athlet do not e out publicly at greater numbers sports?

Nick Symmonds: The sportg field is still a field where beg openly gay or supportg gay rights is still somewhat taboo. Those that are gay and rea om sharg publicly, I thk a lot of that has to do wh the fact that they're aaid of ostracizg fans or potentially losg sponsors.

NICK SYMMONDS BLASTS RSIA ON GAY RIGHTS AT MOSW TRACK CHAMPNSHIP

Many athlet have sponsors that are n by nservativ and the sponsors uld pull out if they felt they had differg views on polics, pecially gay marriage.

NICK SYMMONDS, U.S. OLYMPICS RUNNER, SLAMS RSIA'S ANTI-GAY LAW

Do you thk would be acceptg of openly gay petors? If someone were to e out as openly gay the sport of track and field, I thk certaly among the younger generatn there will be overwhelmg support for . Straight people n play sports well, gay people n play sports well.

Outsports: Have you known any gay track athlet? In track and field, I n certaly thk of half a dozen, at least, that I know would intify as gay or bisexual.

I thk that any person who intifi as gay or bisexual or transgenr is gog to always thread lightly wh people that they don't know very well who might be judgmental. Outsports: What advice would you give an athlete Sochi who wish to register opposn to Rsia's anti-gay laws whout nng afoul of IOC l?

RUNNER NICK SYMMONDS DIT WORLD TRACK SILVER MEDAL RSIA TO HIS GAY, LBIAN IENDS

Somethg else that I've suggted is that athlet who are themselv very much pro-gay rights e together and fd a rpectful yet effective way to nvey their disgt wh those laws. Outsports: If there is a young gay track and field person readg this, and they wanted to know if their sport and their sexual orientatn were patible, what would you say to them?

Nick Symmonds: I would say that beg openly gay track and field is gog to be a tough road at tim.

Instead, the news beme Symmonds' ditn of his medal to his gay and lbian iends.

RSIA, SCRAP YOUR ANTI-GAY LAWS

The official state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the middle distance nner beme the first athlete "to openly cricize Rsia's ntroversial anti-gay law on the untry's soil. "Whether you're gay, straight, black, whe, we all serve the same rights. Rsia has been gettg a lot of cricism after passed laws crimalizg "homosexual propaganda.

"Nobody's more offend than me by some of the anti-gay and -lbian legislatn that we've been seeg Rsia.