Meet 12 LGBT Athletes Heading To The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang
(PRWEB) February 01, 2018 -- The sports world significantly evolved on LGBTQ issues. While there may still be issues in some front offices, the athletes and fans have been ready, willing and able to accept and welcome gay teammates and colleagues for many years.
Gus Kenworthy, John Fennell, Adam Rippon and Eric Radford, are just a few of the athletes competing at the Games who are publicly out and open about their sexual orientation.
Being an out athlete at the Olympics is an important opportunity to live truth while competing at the highest level in sport. Everyone has the right to be themselves and they shouldn’t have to hide. We need to accept, understand, and celebrate that everyone and every athlete is different.
Despite the overwhelming sign of progress in acceptance of LGBT athletes, many still hesitate to come out in the prime of their careers for fear of losing sponsors. For Olympic athletes, sponsorships make of the majority of their income.
Visibility is a powerful tool in the LGBTQ sports movement. The more people see examples of LGBTQ athletes competing and succeeding at a high level, the more others will be inspired to do the same. The Olympics is the largest global platform to discuss sports and social change and Pyeongchang 2018 is no exception. It’s incredibly important that these LGBTQI athletes are visible and that they are visibly supported while competing at the highest level of sports.
With so many open and out LGBT athletes participating in the Olympics this year, the athletes’ safety is also incredibly important. That’s why many reporters covering the Olympics want to help showcase as many LGBT athletes as possible and highlight the accomplishments of the athletes instead of focusing on negative side stories.
There's more to this story. Read the full article about gay athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics by Marlin Lemmons at QueerLife - http://queerlife.me/2018/01/winter-olympics-2018-12-lgbt-athletes-competing-medals/
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Marlin D. Lemmons, Queer Life, http://queerlife.me/, +1 613-555-0177, [email protected]
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