Olympian Johnny Weir believes that his
opposition to a boycott of the Winter Olympics over a Russian
anti-gay law has put him “in a crossfire.”
Passage of the law in June, which
prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda” to minors, led gay
rights activists to call for a boycott of next month's Sochi Games.
Last month, Weir apologized for calling
gay rights activists who protested his opposition “idiots.”
The openly gay Weir, who will be
joining NBC for its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, has
been accused of selling out Russia's LGBT community.
“He is selling out millions of people
to satisfy his desire not to forgo his income or status,” Ann
Northrop of Queer Nation told Gay
City News. “Is this what he would have done in Germany in
1936?”
“I've come under so much hate and
scrutiny from within my own LGBT community for my views on the
Olympics,” the flamboyant figure skater told
Reuters.
“But as somebody who watched my
parents sacrifice everything so that I had at least one chance of
making the Olympics, I could never boycott the Olympics whether they
be in Pyongyang (North Korea), in Uganda, in Iran or Mars.”
“I would have competed there because
my whole life has been about going to the Olympics. Being gay isn't
something that I chose, being gay is something I was born into.”
“But being an Olympic athlete was
something that I chose and something I worked hard for and I'll see
it to any necessary end.”
Despite stating that he sees the
Olympics “strictly as a sporting event and not a political event,”
Weir acknowledged that his presence – as a gay Olympian – sent a
message to Russia.
“My statement is simply being there
and being gay and showing the world and the Russian government that
there is nothing weird or wrong with me and that there is nothing
weird or wrong with the LGBT community in your community so we
shouldn't be treated as pariah.”