Russia and Olympic Committee agree: Don't be openly gay at the Olympics

[pnwmom]

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130812/182723811/Russia-Confirms-Anti-Gay-Law-Will-Be-Enforced-at-Olympics.html

MOSCOW, August 12 (R-Sport) – Russia's Interior Ministry, which controls the police force, confirmed Monday that the country's controversial anti-gay law will be enforced during the Sochi 2014 Olympics.

Confusion has reigned over how the country intends to act during the February 7-23 Winter Games after President Vladimir Putin signed legislation in June that bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors.

The International Olympic Committee first claimed it had received assurances from top government officials that Sochi 2014 athletes and guests will not be affected, prompting Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko to insist no one is exempt from the law.

"The law enforcement agencies can have no qualms with people who harbor a nontraditional sexual orientation and do not commit such acts [to promote homosexuality to minors], do not conduct any kind of provocation and take part in the Olympics peacefully," said an Interior Ministry statement issued on Monday.

SNIP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-mcgonnigal/international-olympic-committee-russia-gay-athletes_b_3744891.html

This game of media ping-pong has left Olympic participants without any actual information regarding the situation in Russia. The truth of the matter is that no matter what kinds of assurances the IOC makes, LGBT people are not welcome or safe in Russia. The IOC can say whatever they want to, but it will not stop some Russian thug in a bar from kidnapping, beating and potentially murdering someone he perceives as gay.

Gay Star News asked the IOC what they thought about plans for athletes to wear rainbow pins or hold hands during the opening and closing ceremonies. They also asked if the IOC would provide a safe space -- or Pride House -- for LGBT athletes, spectators, dignitaries and others during the Games, to celebrate gay sport and community, as has been done in previous years. The IOC's spokesperson replied, "[T]he IOC has a clear rule laid out in the Olympic Charter (Rule 50) which states that the venues of the Olympic Games are not a place for proactive political or religious demonstration. This rule has been in place for many years and applied when necessary." Indeed, Rule 50 of the IOC's charter states, "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

So instead of actually standing up for LGBT athletes, the IOC is essentially siding with Russia and issuing a warning to lesbian and gay athletes. The IOC has made it clear that they have a double standard when it comes to accepting all athletes. The Pride House in Vancouver was historic in that it provided a safe space for LGBT athletes from around the world. The IOC clearly didn't see this as a violation of Rule 50 a few years ago, but it seems as though athletes must now be forced to step back into the closet for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

If the Olympics remain in Sochi, LGBT athletes are automatically at a disadvantage. It's really hard to perform to one's full capabilities when one is spending part or most of the day in actual fear for his or her life. Gay New Zealand speedskater Blake Skjellerup told USA Today, "I don't want to have to tone myself down about who I am. That wasn't very fun and there's no way I'm going back in the closet. I just want to be myself and I hate to think that being myself would get me in trouble." I don't think you'll find a single athlete out there who'd disagree with the notion that you perform better when you don't have to hide who you are. In fact, many said as much when basketball player Jason Collins came out last year.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/08/13/russia_and_the_ioc_agree_athletes_and_spectators_shouldn_t_be_openly_gay.html

On Monday, the Russian Interior Ministry confirmed what other Russian officials have been saying for weeks: Openly gay people attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, including athletes, will be arrested under the country’s draconian new anti-gay law. That law, you might recall, prohibits “homosexual propaganda” and is designed to discourage any kind of support for gay rights or even gay people.

The International Olympic Committee’s response to gay people? We mean it: Stay in the closet.

According to an IOC spokesperson, the Olympics aren’t the place for “proactive political or religious demonstration,” anyway. Just read the fine print: Rule 50 of the Olympic charter declares that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.” By the IOC’s logic, gay people should be keeping quiet about their sexuality no matter what, in accordance with Rule 50. If they speak out and get arrested under Russian law—well, it’s not the IOC’s fault that they just couldn’t keep their mouths shut.

SNIP

It remains unclear how best to remedy Russia’s homophobic threat to the Olympics. Some are calling for a boycott; others hope to move the event to an LGBT-friendly country. President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have resisted these efforts while decrying Russia’s anti-gay law, though they’ve yet to propose their own solutions. Either way, the IOC’s demand that gay people remain functionally closeted during the games can only make matters worse. The committee has essentially accused openly gay people of “demonstrating” their sexuality as “propaganda” just by being gay—perfectly mirroring Russia’s new law. That’s not a solution. It’s the exact kind of homophobic thinking that got us here in the first place.

[MADem]

1. There are married, gay athletes--what, should they get divorced?

I really think we ought to just go back to Canada; if there's not enough room, put some stuff in Salt Lake.

Screw this shit.

[awoke_in_2003]

2. So if I am in the Olympics...

and get caught kissing my wife after winning a medal, that is okay. But don't dare kiss my husband (if I had one). IOC is full of shit.

[DevonRex]

5. Yep. Same if you're in the crowd and you're happy or sad your

Daughter or son or team won. Can't hug or kiss if you're gay.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. And the IOC...

will not even stand up for their athletes. I expect Russia to act like shit birds, but IOC is right there with them.

[spanone]

3. this makes the 'boycott' voices much louder in my head....

[DevonRex]

4. OMG. The disgusting comments.

As IF LGBTs act that way. We're talking about people,e who want the right to act like other people, like everyone else does, in front of 17 y/o kids or 4y/o kids, to told hands or hug in excitement when an athlete wins. Without fear of being beaten and hauled off to jail.

Fuck those people who replied and Fuck Putin and those lawmakers and the IOC. And Jesus fucking Christ there's an Olympics scheduled for Qatar???? Yeah, no gay people like to run or swim. Nope.

[madaboutharry]

6. The IOC

can always be counted on to do the wrong thing.

[DURHAM D]

8. Amen.

For some reason I keep thinking about Avery Brundage.

[roamer65]

9. No American flag should fly at the Games.

If Americans want to go compete they can do it under the Olympic flag. Let it be their choice if they want to go or not.

[riderinthestorm]

10. So when Johnny Weir wins an Olympic gold medal and hugs/kisses his husband

with joy in the moment, they will be arrested?

Great public relations there for Sochi...

(and Johnny Weir has already said he's prepared to be arrested so I'm not creating this scenario as provocative).

[Heywood J]

11. Don't worry. Just remember that this is the friendly face of the IOC we're talking about.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Winter_Olympic_bid_scandal
http://www.theguardian.com/Olympic_scandal/Story/0,,209532,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/297030.stm
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2004-09-16-salt-lake-scandal-punishment_x.htm
http://www.cnn.com/US/9812/29/olympic.bribery.01/

[MineralMan]

12. Boycott the IOC. And Russia.

Now that both are telling LGBT athletes to closet themselves, the time has come for all athletes to simply say, "No, we won't!"

[pnwmom]

13. The Olympians have been training for years for this opportunity, which may never come again.

I think that is too great a sacrifice to ask. Instead, I think they should move the whole thing back to Canada or any other venue that can be made ready.

[msanthrope]

14. Boycotting the IOC does not mean keeping our athletes away--it means not buying the merchandise,

not using their websites/media, and making sure that the corporate sponsors of the IOC will not get their money's worth.

[pnwmom]

15. I have heard other people suggest that it does. For example,

isn't this statement, also in this thread, advocating for the athletes not to compete?

"the time has come for all athletes to simply say, 'No, we won't!'"

[msanthrope]

16. I think we need to hit the corporate sponsors, HARD, before we expect our athletes to

shoulder this burden.

[pnwmom]

17. I agree that your approach is much better. n/t

[MineralMan]

18. The IOC won't change the venue.

That's clear. That's not going to happen. It appears that both the IOC and Russia are doubling down on their insistence that LGBT athletes and attendees stay closeted. That's not acceptable.

If change does not happen, I see no alternative but to simply boycott the games. That is, of course, an individual choice, unless the US Olympic organization boycotts as a group. That would be preferable, and might result in a change in policy. But it needs to happen soon if that is the goal.

Would you accept segregated housing at the Olympics on racial grounds?

[pnwmom]

19. Most of the gay athletes don't want the games shut down.

If even they don't want a lifetime of work thrown away, how can we expect the rest of the athletes to make this sacrifice?

[MineralMan]

20. Their decision, not mine.

I offered my opinion. It's not up to me.

[pnwmom]

21. Why is it so clear that they won't change the venue, assuming enough pressure is

brought to bear?

We could go back to Canada, which had the last winter games.

[MineralMan]

22. What pressure? A boycott is pressure.

What pressure do you think will bear on the IOC and Russia that would cause a venue change? This stuff is set up years in advance, and preparations take a lot of time.

Maybe a whitehouse.gov petition? People start those all the time about things the President can't do anything about.

In reality, only the threat of a boycott by more than one national Olympic team will apply anything near enough pressure to force the IOC and Russia to change their position on this. That's reality. There's no time for a venue change...by a long, long way.

If the pressure attempts to come from people not in any way connected with the Olympics, it will simply have no effect on this international event. The IOC doesn't care. Russia doesn't care.