Sports

Slopestyle skier Gus Kenworthy and figure skater Adam Rippon tweet their Pride from Pyeongchang

by Charlie Smith on February 10th, 2018 at 1:13 PM
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      For generations, LGBT athletes kept their sexual orientation under wraps when competing in the Olympic Games.

      That's because the sometimes macho world of sports has long been a haven for homophobic attitudes.

      But in recent years, there's been a dawning of a new age, thanks to the efforts of Canadian Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewskbury and other LGBT former Olympians to make the Games more inclusive.

      The most famous of those former Olympians is Caitlyn Jenner, who won the decathalon gold medal in Montreal in 1976. 

      Another step along that path occurred last night when two top-ranked U.S. athletes demonstrated their Pride during the opening ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

      Gus Kenworthy is an outstanding slopestyle skier; Adam Rippon is one of the best figure skaters in the world.

      Last month, Rippon expressed his displeasure over news that Vice President Mike Pence would lead U.S. athletes to the opening ceremony, according to Media Matters for America.

      "You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I'm not buying it," the figure skater said.

      Rippon added that he would "absolutely not go out of his way" to meet someone who has shown that "they aren't a friend of a gay person but that they think they are sick".

      Meanwhile, Canada is doing its part on behalf of LGBT athletes in Pyeongchang.

      That's because Canada House is doing double duty as Pride House, thanks to a partnership between the Canadian Olympic Committee and Pride House International.

      It's the first Pride House in Asia. The first one in the world was created at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

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