Olympian Johnny Weir is not headed to the Winter Olympics to be
held next year in Sochi, Russia.
According
to the AP, U.S. Figure Skating confirmed Tuesday that Weir did
not register for the national championships before the September 1
deadline. The Sochi team will be selected from those competing.
The New York Times wrote that Weir's decision to not skate
at the Sochi Olympics probably means the end of his competitive
career.
Weir came out gay in his 2010 memoir Welcome to My World
and married his husband Victor Voronov in New York the following
year.
The always provocative Weir raised the possibility of going to
Sochi in several interviews, including telling CBS News that he was
prepared to be arrested in Russia for looking “too gay,” which he
said could be a violation of a Russian law which prohibits the
promotion of “gay propaganda” to minors.
“You know, like anyone I'm afraid of being arrested but also I'm
not afraid of being arrested,” Weir said. “Myself even walking
down the street going to get Starbucks in the morning and somebody
could arrest me just because I look too gay.”
He also attracted controversy by opposing a proposal to boycott
the Winter Olympics over the Russian anti-gay law.
(Related: Johnny
Weir wears Russian uniform in arguing against Olympic boycott.)