Barack Obama selected two openly gay athletes to the U.S. delegation for the 2014 Winter Olympics. The decision made on Tuesday is a clear message to leaders in host country Russia that their intolerance of the LBGT will not be accepted. Tennis legend Billie Jean King and Women’s ice hockey silver medalist Caitlin Cahow, as well as retired figure skater Brian Boitano.
Boitano and King are members of the delegation for America during the opening ceremonies, while Cahow will represent the stars and stripes at the closing of the winter festivities.
Russian leaders have said that any pro-gay propaganda could and would be subject to arrest of those involved. The outrage was originally sparked by a June law prohibiting the dissemination of information about homosexuality. The International Olympic Committee should be ashamed of Russia’s decision to instill fear based on one’s sexual preferences. This isn’t the first time that the IOC has been lenient when controversy is surrounded the games.
One of the most important and heart-warming qualities of the Olympics is the inclusion of everyone from every country from all walks of life. Anti-gay legislature is a poor excuse to show how close-minded of a country Russia still is. This should not be too shocking, as Russia proudly beats their women (see: Varlamov, Semyon). President Barack Obama did well to remind the world the U.S. is open-minded and accepting.
My hope is that straight and gay athletes attending the 2013 Winter Olympics take a stand during the tournament and force Russian authority to put their money where their collective mouth is. Foreign diplomats would love to hear from Russia as to why jailing their athletes is something other than foolish. Barack Obama made the easy decision to empower people of all sexual orientations.
If leaders of other free and non-tyranny countries would do the same, Russia would be the ones with the short end of the stick. Karma does not bode well for them, either. There is about a 100% chance the country will lose millions of dollars by hosting the Winter Olympics. All those fancy new stadiums will turn into lifeless shells of what they once housed. If that is just one of the prices Russia pays for being stuck in the past, good.
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