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.”