Olympic Committee Could Punish Athletes For Speaking Out Against Russian Anti-Gay Law
Source: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/08/12/2452621
With just six months to go before the 2014 Winter Olympics open in Sochi, Russia, the International Olympic Committee is facing a dilemma in its hand-picked host country: Russia passed an anti-gay law earlier this year that outlaws homosexual propaganda and punishes any instance of it with fines, jail time, and possible deportation. That’s bad news for an organization that prides itself on tolerance, especially considering there will be LGBT athletes at the Games. So the IOC went and got “assurances” from the Russian government that the law wouldn’t apply to Olympians or fans, though other Russian officials have said those assurances are meaningless and that the law will be endorsed.
Facing pressure from LGBT activists and even President Obama, the IOC has announced that it intends to take action. Against any athlete who speaks out against the law during the Games.
Activists want athletes to wear rainbow flag pins or show LGBT pride and solidarity in other ways. American figure skater Johnny Weir has said he’s unafraid of getting arrested, and openly gay speed skater Blake Skjellerup from New Zealand, has pledged to wear a pin at the Games. But if they do, the IOC told GayStarNews this week, they risk violating Rule 50 of the Olympic charter, which states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
“Regarding your suggestions,” an IOC spokesperson told GayStarNews, “the 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. In any case, the IOC would treat each case individually and take a sensible approach depending on what was said or done.” Any athlete who violates that rule, the IOC says, could be punished with disqualification.
Read more: Think Progress.org
Is this really 2013?
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