beyond that, rage on
not that simpleIOC Forbids LGBT Rights Advocacy
At Sochi Olympics
So…
I get the outrage. I really do. But I think that most of the alarmists in this case are misreading the IOC's intent, as the headline on that Towleroad entry seems to indicate (though the article at Slate goes even farther). The IOC isn't singling out LGBT advocacy to the exclusion of anything else. If anything, it's putting that advocacy on the same level as any other kind of political “speech” at the Olympics under Rule 50.
The conclusion that so many people seem to be leaping to is that gay Olympians have to go back into the closet, which isn't what the rule requires at all. The Russians may do something bigoted and stupid, but the IOC is simply enforcing its rule - which, as far as I can tell, has never been used in the way the current state of outrage would have us believe. Sufficient evidence: there have been openly gay athletes at the Games who haven't been expelled simply for being gay, and there haven't been any openly gay athletes engaging in behavior that violates Rule 50. At least, I think that mere existence isn't political propaganda, but I know I'm weird in lots of respects.
In the way of contrast, we have what is, for better or worse (mostly worse as the IOC goes, but that's a personal view), one of the more widely-known IOC Rule 50 enforcements:
