Somehow, the United States Olympic Committee needed until last Friday, October 11, 2013 to come around to adding "sexual orientation" to their non-discrimination policy. Bluntly, the USOC is not your friend. If they were sincere about lgbt athletes, they ought to have become inclusive twenty-six years ago, as a goodwill gesture after their bigoted case against Gay Games reached the Supreme Court.
This relevant backstory is missing from all news reports on the updated non-discrimination rules.
Originally, the event was to be the Gay Olympic Games, and in August 1982 the USOC sued the organizers to change the name. At that time many other groups used the word olympics for their events, including Junior Olympics, Special Olympics, Police Olympics, Eskimo Olympics, even Rat Olympics, yet the USOC sued only the gay group. The district court and the ninth circuit agreed with the USOC, as did, of course, the Rehnquist court in 1987 in a two-part decision 7-2 and 5-4. The USOC was represented by DC fatcat and owner of two sports teams, Edward Bennett Williams. The Gay Games' attorney was out lesbian Mary Dunlap, who died from pancreatic cancer at 54 in 2003, five months before the Lawrence v Texas decision.
The original olympics were all-made nude contests.
(Photo of Mary at the Supreme Court via.)
Not only everything that you said in the post re: the Gay Games nee Olympics, but although they added LGBTs to their non-discrimination policy they have refused to repudiate or criticize the discriminatory laws of Russia, the host of the upcoming Winter Olympics. They have forbade athletes from expressing any sign of solidarity with LGBT athletes or causes (not even painting rainbow colors on fingernails!), and have stated that all participants most obey the laws of the host country. They are anything BUT sincere about gay athletes.
Posted by: Steve N | October 15, 2013 at 12:35 PM