Olympian Blake Skjellerup opposes a boycott of the Winter Olympics
over a Russian anti-gay law.
Russian officials have said that the law, which prohibits the
public promotion of gay rights to minors, will be enforced at the
Sochi games. The vaguely worded law would seem to outlaw everything
from Gay Pride marches to the simple act of wearing a rainbow pride
pin in public.
The 28-year-old openly gay Skjellerup, a short track speed skater
who competed for New Zealand at the 2010 Winter Olympics, appeared on
CNN via Skype from Calgary, Canada.
“I don't support a boycott at all,” Skjellerup
said. “I believe in the power of visibility. And I believe
that the world showing up at Russia united on this issue, because
this is a human rights issue, LGBT rights are proven now to be a
human right. And I think if the world shows up … I think that will
be a lot stronger than a boycott.”
“I'm going to go to Sochi. I'm going to be myself. If that
gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. But there's no way that
I'm going to hide away who I am during the Olympics, because the
Olympics are something I've worked very hard towards.”
(Related: Johnny
Weir won't compete in Sochi Winter Olympics.)