Hockey player Caitlin Cahow on
Wednesday would not rule out making a statement in support of gay
rights while attending the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Cahow is one of two openly gay athletes
who will officially represent the United States at the Sochi Games.
The second athlete is tennis legend Billie Jean King.
Gay rights activists have urged leaders
to boycott the games in protest of the nation's “gay propaganda”
law, which prohibits public demonstrations of support for the LGBT
community.
While the White House has denied that
it included the gay athletes to send a message to Russia, Cahow would
not rule out making a statement on her own.
(Related: White
House says Olympic delegation's gay athletes is no snub.)
“My number one goal is to support the
athletes, my teammates, all of Team USA and to represent my country
with dignity,” Cahow told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. “And if that means
making a statement, then so be it. But my main goal is to go over
and be as supportive as I can. And just be in Russia and have my
presence there demonstrate that this sort of regulation will not be
tolerated in the United States, because we believe in dignity and
equality. And that's really what we're sending over … We're
sending those values.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)