The International Olympic Committee unanimously approved a measure to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation from its Olympic Games on Monday. Rather than being showered with praise, the formal declaration of inclusiveness has instead been slammed by LGBT activists as little more than a public relations stunt.
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Out Sports co-founder Cyd Zeigler, said he doesn’t think real change will take root until the same non-discrimination policy is applied when selecting Olympic host countries. For example, Russia, the host of 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, has a law in place that bans the so-called “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations,” preventing gay citizens and tourists alike from making their sexual orientation known in public.
“They continue to have countries that persecute and kill people simply for being gay – you can’t reconcile that with the idea that is a meaningful development,” said Zeigler. Until that happens, “it’s putting lipstick on a pig.” On Thursday, Zeigler and Way Too Early’s Thomas Roberts hosted a Twitter chat on LGBT athletes and the Olympics. The conversation is captured below.
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