Sunday, August 24, 2008

 

Some People Have Issues

Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo's Fourth Place Medal sports blog makes a big issue that Australian 10 meter gold medal winner, Matthew Mitcham, is openly gay. Curiously, the main quote from Mitcham is:
Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive.
Emphasis added.

Hendricks appears to be on of those people who have issues. She goes on to write:
Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?
Later, Hendricks posts an update to point out that NBC did not mention Mitcham's sexual orientation.
UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes' significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards' fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle.
Sanya Richard's fiancee is a professional athlete, cornerback for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. I find that somewhat more interesting than someone's sexual orientation. The story about French and Italian swimmers appears to be quite interesting, involving the female moving to Italy for love, a break-up, nude pictures and video. Something worthy of Paris Hilton or Pamela Anderson. Of course, "Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle" occurred during Olympic competition. She lost her wedding ring during a game, not while washing her hands after dinner or such.

I'm not sure what it is that makes some members of the LBGT community want to flout their sexual orientation. To a large degree their assumed goal of gaining widespread acceptance or tolerance of gays has been reached. Indeed, being gay is now as blasé as being straight. Hence, not enough of a story for NBC to pick up. Isn't that how it should be?

But, some people have issues.

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