Olympian Johnny Weir retired from
competitive skating this week and announced that he'll be joining NBC
for its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi. But the openly gay
Weir told The New York Times that he has no plans to speak out
against Russia's campaign against gays.
Russia's law prohibits the promotion of
“gay propaganda” to minors, effectively outlawing Gay Pride
marches and similar displays of support.
Weir, a self-described Russiophile,
came out gay in his 2010 memoir Welcome to My World and
married husband Victor Voronov, who is Russian, in New York the
following year.
“The Olympics are not the place to
make a political statement,” Weir
told the paper. “I'm not a politician and I don't really talk
about politics. You don't have to agree with the politics, but you
have to respect the culture of a country you are visiting.”
“It's pretty obvious that I've been
gay my whole life,” the flamboyant Weir added. “I don't need to
break any laws or wear a rainbow pin to show people that I support
gay rights. I think I'll do that just by being in Sochi and
supporting our people there and know they are not alone.”