IOC Forbids Athletes to Speak Against Russian Antigay Laws
http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/08/13/international-olympic-committee-forbids-athletes-speak-against-russian-antigay
Sochi is right around the corner and as excited as we are for the upcoming season, we should probably take some time to discuss the growing concern over Russia's anti-gay laws. I'm not surprised by the IOC's statements because honestly, the organization was run by a man who worked for the Franco regime for two decades. The majority of members are old, really conservative men that probably see these laws as totally just. They are politicians, not athletes. They know how important it is to remain diplomatic, keep the IOC from financial ruin that it faced in the 60s-70s, and not upset the hosts so the only way any action is going to get done is if the sponsors pull out, which is not likely either. But just because I'm not surprised by these laws, doesn't mean I believe they're right.
What also cracks me up is that everyone is taking about Johnny Weir--and come on, guys. Johnny ain't making that team. If you watched figure skating all four years you would know that. The sad thing is that even if Johnny was in medal contention shape, NBC would probably do everything in their power to get him off that team so they wouldn't have to deal with his ass getting arrested in Russia . The general public seems to think that it's our duty to rpotect the athletes--which it is, don't get me wrong--but can we really say that our sport federations are any better than Russia when athletes are scared to come out? I can count the number of out-winter Olympic athletes on my hands. That's sad.
What's even more sad is some of the comments on the Yahoo!Sports article I found of Johnny's opinions on the law:
