The LGBT community and Russia have been the rage in the media lately. Some LGBT activists and other supporters have suggested a boycott of the Winter Olympics that will be held in Sochi, Russia in February.
The argument goes that we should not allow countries that discriminate or support human rights violations to be able to hold the Olympics. Not surprisingly, gay athletes Greg Louganis and Johnny Weir disagree.
When an athlete works for years, or decades, to get to compete in the Olympics, it must be horrible to think it may be all for naught because of some political controversy. While I understand the idea of not wanting to support countries that do not support LGBT rights, I also try to put myself in the place of the athlete.
In 1980, the United States, as well as 64 other countries, boycotted the Moscow Olympic Games. Ironically, it was due to the invasion of Afghanistan by Russia. The boycott led to a boycott by the Soviet Union of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Tit for tat.
Who suffered? The athletes that worked all of their lives to compete. Four years in an athlete’s life is an eternity, so many of their lives were permanently changed because they were not given the chance to become an Olympic champion.
Politicizing the Olympics is absolutely the wrong thing to do. The Olympics are about athletic competition and nothing else. If a country boycotts the Olympics because of the host nation’s actions, we will eventually get to the point that at every games some countries will not participate. Then the whole concept of the Olympics will be undermined; the best athletes in the world competing for the gold.
While activists that are calling for a boycott are well meaning, this is not a fight we should have. Yes, the law about homosexuality in Russia is heinous, but what better way to give Putin and the Russian government the finger than to have an LGBT athlete win a medal? Just like Jesse Owens did at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin by winning four gold medals in track and field. I am sure Hitler was not pleased that his concept of the superiority of the Aryan race was clearly debunked on the world stage.
It may not be the most popular opinion, but I say let the games begin.
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
