Wh only 7 openly gay athlet Sochi, those closet are on the wrong si of history - Outsports

Contents:

• HOW SOCHI BEME THE GAY OLYMPICS
• WH ONLY 7 OPENLY GAY ATHLET SOCHI, THOSE CLOSET ARE ON THE WRONG SI OF HISTORY
• THE ARE THE 6 OPENLY GAY ATHLET PETG AT THE SOCHI OLYMPICS
• SOCHI 2014: GAY RIGHTS PROTTS TARGET RSIA'S GAM
• OLYMPIC ANTI-DISCRIMATN CLSE TRODUCED AFTER SOCHI GAY RIGHTS ROW
• OBAMA SELECTS GAY ATHLET FOR SOCHI OLYMPIC LEGATN
• GAY ATHLET TO REPRENT U.S.
• SOCHI OLYMPICS: GAY ATHLET TO JO US LEGATN
• SOCHI OLYMPICS: RSIA SAYS NO DISCRIMATN FOR GAY ATHLET
• AS GAY ATHLET PREPARE TO TAKE A STAND IN SOCHI, THE QUTN IS HOW TO DO IT
• HOW WILL NBC COVER GAY ISSU DURG SOCHI OLYMPICS?
• BRIAN BOANO SAYS HE'S GAY
• LET'S TAKE THE GAY TO SOCHI FOR THE WTER OLYMPICS

HOW SOCHI BEME THE GAY OLYMPICS

The Stonewall rts were more than a the past; a year earlier, reports had surfaced about rare pnmonia and ncer afflictg homosexuals New York and California—the first glimmers of what would later be lled AIDS. ” “Direct ntact” wh athlet om the natns, Day argued, would be enlighteng for Amerins livg a untry where ternatnal visors were often nied entry bee of their sexual s later, sports are once aga stirrg to take stock of gay rights around the world.

Ultimately, the stlit Olympics history may be remembered for markg a perd which gay rights aren’t so much advancg globally as expandg certa parts of the world while regrsg or languishg 6, 000 athlet om 85 untri gather Sochi, the global gay-rights divi will be unmistakable. But gay rights only me to the fore the summer of 2013, when the Rsian ernment, which crimalized homosexualy 1993, banned the dissematn of “propaganda of nontradnal sexual relatns” around children—makg more difficult for gay activists to operate and, rights groups allege, fuelg a rise anti-gay vlence the untry. Put has sce clared that gays attendg the Olympics should feel "at ease” (so long as they “leave the children peace”), but that’s done ltle to prevent Sochi om beg a battleground for gay rights.

The mayor of Sochi sayg there were no gay people his cy didn’t help, perhaps the most provotive rebe to Rsia’s lims on LGBT rights, Print Obama has clud three openly gay athlet—Billie Jean Kg, Cal Cahow, and Brian Boano— the U. Gay Olympic athlet have exprsed outrage as well; the Atralian snowboarr Belle Brockhoff, for stance, has vowed to “rip on [Put’s] ass” after petg and possibly flash an oblique six-fger salute reference to “Prciple Six, ” an anti-discrimatn clse the Olympic Charter.

WH ONLY 7 OPENLY GAY ATHLET SOCHI, THOSE CLOSET ARE ON THE WRONG SI OF HISTORY

Then there’s the solutn proposed by Saturday Night Live: an all-heterosexual Team USA figure-skatg squad:The laws agast homosexualy that have recently ma ternatnal headl aren’t necsarily new, Stern says, but they are “gettg more attentn today bee of the level of progrs that we’ve seen other parts of the world. In recent months, India’s Supreme Court has restated a ban on gay sex ( one fell swoop doublg, by one timate, the number of gay people the world who n be imprisoned for their sexualy) and Atralia’s High Court has overturned gay-marriage legislatn. In Uganda, Print Yoweri Meveni has exprsed opposn to a proposed bill metg out life imprisonment for gays—only to characterize homosexualy as an “abnormaly” and lbianism as a product of “sexual starvatn.

” We know the story Rsia, where Vladimir Put has anoted himself the lear of an ternatnal nservative unteroffensive agast the Wt’s “genrls and fertile” the Bssels-based Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA) noted s latt report on “state-sponsored homophobia, ” “ltle has changed the proportn between untri crimalizg same-sex sexual acts between nsentg adults and those which do not, i. ”The “current divisn of the world—om the pot of view of legislatn—to an LGBTI-iendly field and an LGBTI-uniendly field is the rult of different cultural, social and polil procs rooted the histori of the untri and the history of their relatns wh one another, ” the study ’s how that divid world looked as of May 2013, when ILGA me out wh s report (click on the map to expand):ILGAIn a June report tled “The Global Divi on Homosexualy, ” the Pew Rearch Center arrived at siar nclns, fdg “broad acceptance of homosexualy North Ameri, the European Unn, and much of Lat Ameri, but equally wispread rejectn predomantly Mlim natns and Ai, as well as parts of Asia and Rsia. S., where public support has grown signifintly, and that “acceptance of homosexualy is particularly wispread untri where relign is ls central people’s liv”—natns that also tend to be the wealthit the world.

THE ARE THE 6 OPENLY GAY ATHLET PETG AT THE SOCHI OLYMPICS

Exceptns clu Rsia and Cha, where levels of religsy and tolerance for homosexualy are both Rearch CenterHere are the percentag of rponnts the 39 untri Pew surveyed who said society should accept homosexualy.

Except South Ai, where gay marriage is legal but only 32 percent accept homosexualy, same-sex marriage has, not surprisgly, advanced the most untri where support of homosexualy is Rearch CenterRelign undoubtedly rms opns on LGBT rights—a dynamic rerced by the recent trend of globetrottg Amerin evangelils, stymied at home, craftg and promotg rtrictns on homosexualy foreign pals—but ’s not the only factor at play. Vladimir Put, ILGA Executive Director Renato Sabbadi argu, se anti-gay legislatn as a means of platg the powerful Rsian Orthodox Church and fendg ‘tradnal valu’ opposn to the Wt, where LGBT rights are generally advancg.

SOCHI 2014: GAY RIGHTS PROTTS TARGET RSIA'S GAM

Stern pots to the Kampala-based Civil Society Coaln on Human Rights and Constutnal Law’s outspoken opposn to Uganda’s anti-gay bill, while Sabbadi c how Indian gay-rights activists swiftly mobilized to prott the rtoratn of the untry’s ban on homosexual acts. ” In Brazil, for example, same-sex marriage is legal, but more transgenr people are murred than anywhere else the also tak issue wh the notn that Sochi is simply a dramatizatn of today's global gay-rights divi. There would have been one openly gay man petg Sochi — New Zealand short track speed skater Blake Skjellep — but he missed qualifyg by one slotAfter reviewg a list like this, you have to wonr whether there is any good reason for anyone to be the closet anymore.

If the first steps toward GLBT rights and acceptance the sports world were taken s ago by pneers like Billie Jean Kg and Marta Navratilova, both of whom me out ahead of their time, there will certaly be gay athlet Sochi about which uld now be said that they are behd their time. Instead of seeg the upsis of a supportive muny, or the fort of followg the exampl of Colls, Rogers, and Daley (all of whom have more at stake, fancial terms, than Wter Olympic athlet, and who all had posive experienc g out), or the power of embracg the eedom to be themselv, today’s gay Olympians see only a hypothetilly homophobic skatg judge or some media attentn that might slow them down a actn of a send.

OLYMPIC ANTI-DISCRIMATN CLSE TRODUCED AFTER SOCHI GAY RIGHTS ROW

Foreigners n be July 2013, Rsia ma illegal for foreign gay and lbian upl to adopt Rsian children, and October 2013, the ernment proposed legislatn that would remove Rsian children om their LGBT parents. Rsian activists note that the measur strengthen homophobia a untry where 74 percent of people already believe that homosexualy is new laws, says Human Rights Watch, have also fueled vic attacks agast LGBT dividuals, cludg beatgs, kidnappgs, torture and murr. Or watch this documentary, "Hunted, " by vtigative journalist Liz here’s the rabow lg: Sochi has also provid a highly visible fom for ternatnal prott and prsure rponse to Rsia’s anti-gay laws.

For example, some 50 Olympic athlet — pl 406, 000 other people around the globe — have petned the Rsian ernment to "elimate all anti-gay laws and protect all cizens om vlence and discrimatn Rsia. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/Getty Imag)While Internatnal Olympics Commtee member Dick Pound (no, really) has downplayed the harshns of the untry's “antigay stuff, ” European Unn Commissner Viviane Redg nfirmed that she'll boytt the Gam bee of Rsia's treatment of mori. Instead, he'll be sendg the largt and most openly gay legatn Olympics rponse to the ternatnal outcry, Rsian Print Vladimir Put awkwardly backpedaled to a pedophilia parison.

” Sochi’s mayor then claimed there are no gay people Sochi, leadg to some entertag fact-checkg by the Olympics are a time to celebrate world-class feats of athleticism, flamboyant displays of natnalism and maybe some spanx-clad buns. She told the Globe and Mail she was “so proud to be gay” and wanted to speak out agast Rsia’s anti-gay laws: “I uld never promote that msage of ncealg who you are wh all of this gog on Rsia. ” The 50-year-old figure skatg legend, who won gold at the 1988 Wter Olympics, jos two other openly gay athlet on the legatn — tennis champn Billie Jean Kg (39 Grand Slam tl) and Olympic ice hockey player Cal Cahow (bronze medal the 2006 Toro Gam).

OBAMA SELECTS GAY ATHLET FOR SOCHI OLYMPIC LEGATN

Media ptn, Watch: The torch arriv Sochi, where will spend three days ahead of the openg ceremonyGay rights activists across the world have been holdg a day of protts agast the Rsian ernment, jt two days before the Wter Olympics beg the southern rort of protts seek to persua sponsors of the event to speak out over Rsia's ntroversial laws on gay rights protts were anised 19 ci around the Olympic torch has arrived Sochi, havg vised 135 ci the 122 days sce leavg will spend three days and around Sochi before arrivg the Olympic stadium to light the Olympic uldron durg Friday's openg ceremony. Activists want Olympic sponsors such as McDonald's, Co-Cola, Samsung and Visa to speak agast Rsia's new laws on ptn, Protters Jesalem chant: "No exc, homophobia is terror"Last year, Rsia banned the promotn of "non-tradnal" sexualy - wily seen as an attack on gay law mak providg rmatn on homosexualy to unr-18s a crime, punishable by a fe.

Crics say s loose terpretatn effectively stops gay rights protts Campbell, a director at the equaly mpaign group All Out, told the BBC that the new Rsian laws went agast the spir of the Olympics.

GAY ATHLET TO REPRENT U.S.

"All we are sayg is that we n't jt ignore the fact that this is happeng Rsia where the anti-gay laws are preventg the Olympic valu beg lived and enjoyed by lns of people. "Image source, PAImage ptn, TV prenter Pl O'Grady and polil mpaigner Peter Tatchell took part the rally central LondonImage source, RtersImage ptn, Protters Madrid held up sheets of rd the lours of the Olympics rgsIn a rporate blog post, AT&T nmned Rsia's stance, sayg stood "agast Rsia's anti-LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr] law" telemunitns giant is not an IOC sponsor but do sponsor the US Olympic month, Print Vladimir Put said homosexuals would be wele Sochi for the Olympics but add: "Jt leave the children peace. After the ntroversy that surround Rsia’s anti-gay laws before the Sochi 2014 Wter Gam, the Internatnal Olympic Commtee (IOC) has troduced a specific anti-discrimatn clse to s host cy a letter to prospective bidrs for the 2022 Wter Olympics rmg them of chang to the ntract, which acts as a bdg agreement between the IOC and the wner, director of sport Christophe Dubi said the new clse would be based on prciple 6 of the Olympic clse reads: “Any form of discrimatn wh regard to a untry or a person on grounds of race, relign, polics, genr or otherwise is patible wh belongg to the Olympic movement.

”In the letter, Dubi rms bidrs that “an exprs reference was clud to the prohibn of any form of discrimatn, g the wordg of fundamental prciple 6 of the Olympic charter” the eve of the Sochi Olympics, the Guardian revealed that more than 50 current and former Olympians – cludg 12 petg the 2014 Gam – had lled on the Rsian thori to rensir new laws that banned “gay propaganda” aimed at unr-18s and had led to a wave of homophobic of the 52 Olympians, wh dozens of medals between them and cludg 12 Sochi petors, also cricised the IOC and multatnal sponsors for not dog more to force Vladimir Put’s admistratn to sle back the legislatn. “This is a signifint step ensurg the protectn of both cizens and athlet around the world and sends a clear msage to future host ci that human rights vlatns, cludg those agast lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people, will not be tolerated, ” said Andre Banks, -founr of All Out. “This is a particularly important moment for the world’s lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr cizens who face discrimatn and persecutn not only Rsia but untri all over the world.

SOCHI OLYMPICS: GAY ATHLET TO JO US LEGATN

Before the 2008 summer Gam, Beijg faced global protts over s human rights rerd durg the torch relay while Kazakhstan has been repeatedly cricised over human rights by move is likely to crease the prsure on Fifa to take a stand before the 2018 World Cup Rsia and the ntroversial 2022 tournament Qatar, where homosexualy is Guardian revealed June that Fifa, mired ntroversy over rptn claims surroundg the 2018 and 2022 biddg procs, was nsirg makg a untry’s human rights rerd a factor when cidg future World Cup hosts. The cisn follows a public mpaign by gay rights groups to urge the Whe Hoe to clu gays, lbians and their supporters the legatn hop of drawg attentn to Rsia’s natnal laws banng “gay propaganda. Associated PrsDec 17, 2013, 07:09 PM ETPrint Barack Obama sent Rsia a clear msage about s treatment of gays and lbians wh who he is -- and isn't -- sendg to reprent the Uned Stat at the Sochi Jean Kg will be one of two openly gay athlet the U.

"It's a posive sign to see openly gay reprentativ the legatn, " said Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokman for the Human Rights Campaign, which recently sent a letter urgg Obama to clu gays and lbians the legatn.

"I am equally proud to stand wh the members of the LGBT muny support of all athlet who will be petg Sochi and I hope the Olympic Gam will ed be a watershed moment for the universal acceptance of all people, " said Kg, who will attend the openg player Cal Cahow is the other openly gay reprentative to the legatn. Boytt of the Olympics spe a number of differenc wh Rsia, cludg the anti-gay move, however, sends a strong signal: In 2010, vice print Joe Bin led the legatn, and 2012, first lady Michelle Obama held the year's group is led by former Homeland Secury Secretary Ja Napolano.

SOCHI OLYMPICS: RSIA SAYS NO DISCRIMATN FOR GAY ATHLET

"Meanwhile, the IOC approved a letter gog out to athlet remdg them to rea om protts or polil gtur durg the Sochi Gam -- reeratg Rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which forbids monstratns on Olympic had prevly said he'd received assuranc om Rsian print Vladimir Put that gays will not be discrimated agast Sochi.

Image ptn, Billie Jean Kg said she was honoured to reprent the LGBT people at SochiThe US is sendg two openly gay sports stars to the Wter Olympics Sochi as part of s official move is beg seen as a challenge to new laws Rsia which ban "propaganda" about legend Billie Jean Kg and ice hockey player Cal Cahow will reprent the US at the openg and closg ceremoni and other events. But the Rsian law, which bans the promotn of "non-tradnal sexual relatns"- has raised qutns about what uld happen to athlet who wear ps or badg or rry flags supportg gay Whe Hoe said a statement that Mr Obama was "extremely proud of our US athlet and looks forward to cheerg them on om Washgton". "I am equally proud to stand wh the members of the LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr] muny support of all athlet who will be petg Sochi and I hope the Olympic Gam will ed be a watershed moment for the universal acceptance of all people, " she said.

Image source, RtersImage ptn, The gam will be Rsia's most high-profile ternatnal sportg event yearsRsian officials say gay athlet petg next year's wter Olympics will not face discrimatn spe a ntroversial new law on gay propaganda, Rsian media ncerns were "pletely unfound", the terr mistry said, quoted by Interfax news agency. Crics say s loose terpretatn effectively hrs any kd of public gay rights event mistry said that officials would act durg the gam - as at any other time - to protect children "om the propaganda of non-tradnal sexual relatns" add that there would be no issue wh "people who adhere to non-tradnal sexual orientatn but do not engage the activi, nor stage any provotns, and take part peacefully Olympic events together wh everyone else" mistry said ncerns over discrimatn towards gay athlet at the gam were "pletely unfound and unsubstantiated". Calls for the gam to be moved to another untry have e om gay rights mpaigners around the world, cludg Brish broadster Stephen Fry who last week wrote an open letter to Mr Rogge and IOC later told the BBC had received "assuranc om the hight level of ernment Rsia that the legislatn" would "not affect those attendg or takg part the gam".

AS GAY ATHLET PREPARE TO TAKE A STAND IN SOCHI, THE QUTN IS HOW TO DO IT

Homosexualy was crimalised Rsia 1993 and ernment officials have sought to play down the possible impact of the bill - passed June - on the Sochi on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s. Skjellep's stance is supported by Rsia's most proment gay-rights activist, Nikolai Alekseyev, who told RFE/RL he was ready to distribute ps om the first Mosw pri para 2006 to any terted athlet. Dmry Kiselev, the director of the leadg state-n TV channel Rossia 1, said of gays durg a recent program: "Their hearts, se of an tomobile accint, should be buried the ground or burned as unsuable for the ntuatn of life.

Clash over gay rights put NBC a difficult posn: Olympic officials sist that the gam should not be policized, while activists ph the work to report on the issue as a journalistic enterprise. Vlence met past monstratns at which Rsian gays and lbians kissed, while no arrts ensued om other vlent attacks that were ptured vios and upload to Rsian social media platforms. Legatn for Sochi along wh openly gay athlet Billie Jean Kg and Cal 1988 gold medalist had always kept his personal life private, sayg a statement that "beg gay is jt one part of who I am.

HOW WILL NBC COVER GAY ISSU DURG SOCHI OLYMPICS?

" But Print Barack Obama's cisn to clu openly gay athlet the legatn for the openg and closg ceremoni -- and not send high-rankg officials -- was wily seen as a msage to Rsia about s treatment of gays and lbians. Ambassador to Rsia Michael McFl, puty Secretary of State William Burns and printial adviser Rob the five athlet the legatn, three -- Boano, Kg and Cahow -- are openly gay. By Charley SullivanThe creased foc on recent anti-gay legislatn and persecutn Rsia, and lls for some form of actn agast them the ntext of the 2014 Wter Olympic Gam Sochi are my perfect storm.

Too much is at cril voic the discsns about potential boytt of Sochi—those of gay, lbian and bisexual athlet aimg to pete there—will be largely absent om the bate should not be surprisg then. In general, the outspoken voic will eher be gay activists who may have ltle knowledge of ele athletics, or straight athlet and officials who may have snt knowledge of LGBT is val, therefore, that US sport lears—the USOC and the heads of the eight wter sport natnal feratns (Biathlon, Bobsled and Skeleton, Curlg, Figure Skatg, Hockey, Luge, Ski and Snowboard, and Speedskatg)—take a forthright stand on prcipal.

Simultaneoly, reach out publicly to our diplomats and policians to ask them to seek clear, public assuranc om the Rsians that any gay, lbian, bisexual or transgenr athlet and their alli at the Gam will not be subject to discrimatn or harassment. Autocratic stat that e patrtic natnalist inti to try and nsolidate polil power do not rpond well to outsi prsure, particularly on “cultural” matters—thk Nazi Germany, as Harvey discs, or Stalist Rsia, Peron’s Argenta, Idi Am’s Uganda, Sarno or Suharto’s Indonia, Cha durg Mao’s Great Leap Forward or the 2008 Olympics, even Lee Kwan Yew’s is rrect when he not that such stat often e ternal enemi, cludg those marked by genr and sexualy—“impure” women have been targets all the s I listed above, as have gay men—to distract om enomic and polil nstrictns they face at home. Even if the laws were changed, by some miracle, we would still need to keep md the possibily of this beg temporary and for show, a morn Potemk Village of, what are the rponsibili of athlet who are about to be given the world stage for two weeks next Febary, if any real legal change for gays and lbians Rsia is off the table?

BRIAN BOANO SAYS HE'S GAY

First, we and our alli should immediately send openly gay diplomats and policians and, y, openly gay ele athlet and ach, travelg on official legatns and unr diplomatic immuny, to prs this qutn publicly wh the Rsians. Then, after the reprentativ of non-discrimatory natns wrangle public assuranc om the Rsian ernment that the Gam will not be a se of anti-gay actn or prsure any way, let every athlete, every ach, every tourist gog to Sochi take one of those ltle rabow flags wh them.

LET'S TAKE THE GAY TO SOCHI FOR THE WTER OLYMPICS

Let every Rsian watchg televisn, and every Nigerian, and every Ugandan, and every Iranian too, know that there are people, gay and straight, who will not accept the anti-gay stat quo whout ment.