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THE SCANDAL IN SOCHI:
A
COLD RECEPTION
FOR
GAY ATHLETES AT THE
SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS
n June, the Russian parliament passed a law banning
the dissemination of “propaganda of non-traditional
sexual relations” among minors. This move was seen
as a major attack on the Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual and
Transgender (GLBT) population of the country, and the ripple
effect has probably shocked some of the law-makers.
With the Sochi Winter Olympics only 6 months in the future,
there have been frenzied calls for a boycott of the games to
show the world’s solidarity over the oppressive new laws.
The situation once again brings forth the question of the
wider role of sport in the global community. It is a given that
it is more than the simple running of a race, or putting a ball
in a net. International sport, with the Olympic Games as its
figurehead, was envisaged to be an force beyond politics and
pettiness, where the global community could join together and
be their best.
It is logical that when a political body is making movements
that some interpret as oppressive, the Olympic spirit of equality
is being undermined.
Comedian Steven Fry, who is something of a spokesperson
for gay rights, has likened the support of the Winter Olympics
to the 1936 Berlin Games. He claimed that Putin “is making
scapegoats of gay people, just as Hitler did Jews. He cannot be
allowed to get away with it . . . I am gay. I am a Jew. My mother
lost over a dozen of her family to Hitler’s anti-Semitism.” In his
open letter, he called for a blanket ban on the games.
While there remains a definite logic to his argument, many
others believe that a boycott will not have the desired effect.
In an interview with the Guardian, Olympic Skeleton winner
Amy Williams, summed up what many athletes are thinking. “As
far as I know from the statistics, boycotting does not work,” said
Williams. “I did hear that boycotting in the past has proven to
never work, it doesn’t solve an issue.”
I
38 • Touchline • Issue 14
SPORT AND POLITICS:
Johnny Weir, openly gay figure skater
who is married to a Russian-American
BY TIMOTHY MOTTRAM