Thursday morning, The Daily Beast published an article titled “I Got Three Grindr Dates in an Hour in the Olympic Village,” which World OutGames Miami has condemned as ” …a gay witch-hunt that harms LGBT individuals.”
World OutGames Miami described the piece written by Nico Hines as, ” …a shameful example of the everyday struggles faced by LGBT athletes and individuals from all over the world. There was no point to the story other than to drive web traffic to The Daily Beast’s Web site at the expense of shaming and endangering the lives of the gay athletes he outed.
“In a desperate attempt for clicks, Hines recklessly described the athletes in ways that could have easily identified and outed these athletes, several of whom are from countries that outlaw homosexuality. As Hines wrote himself, several of the athletes the he outed live in “notoriously homophobic” countries and are forced to live in the shadows.”
The article was on full-display for the world to see for nearly 12 hours. Despite replacing the piece with an apology letter published on behalf its editors, The Daily Beast’s “we’re sorry” is simply not good enough.
World OutGames Miami and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) condemned The Daily Beast’s, ” … twisted idea of journalism and implores that the International Olympic Committee immediately revoke the press credentials of both Hines and The Daily Beast, and that Nico Hines be terminated.”
The 2017 World OutGames, which will be hosted in Miami, will proudly offer a safe environment for athletes to compete without fear of retribution. Our vision of competition, which we share with our community partners including OUT Miami Foundation and others, prioritizes our core values of respect, innovation diversity, empowerment and comradery, as well as the dignity and privacy of all participants. We invite you to be a part of the conversation and join us in May 2017. Learn more at www.OutGames.org.
