Russia's antigay law colors Sochi Olympics

PARK CITY, Utah - Much like the symbolic flame that last week began its journey from Greece to Sochi, Russia, once a political controversy is stoked in advance of an Olympic Games, it is nearly impossible to extinguish.

Disputes involving wars, terrorism, and racial injustice here and abroad have marked earlier Olympics as indelibly as any athlete. Think of the Nazism on display in Berlin in 1936 or the black-power salutes in Mexico City in 1968. Now, with four months remaining before the 2014 Winter Games start in the remote Black Sea resort, the issue of gay rights has attached itself to these Olympics like a sixth ring.

If past is prelude, questions to athletes and administrators about the harsh antigay legislation Russian president Vladimir Putin signed in July will intensify as the Feb. 7 opening ceremonies near. Until then, there figure to be protests, symbolic gestures, and threats of boycotts. And, for its most vocal opponents at least, every Olympic event will be viewed through the rainbow prism of the contentious new law.

Last week, for example, discussion on the subject dominated the 2014 U.S. Winter Olympics Media Summit in this lofty mountain town. American skiers, skaters, and snowboarders were pressed repeatedly for their reactions. All had been briefed carefully by a U.S. Olympic Committee that continues to tread diplomatically around the subject.

"I want to make it very clear that we have not asked our athletes not to speak up," said Scott Blackmun, the USOC's CEO.

That became apparent when top American contenders like figure skater Ashley Wagner and, most notably, skier Bode Miller proved far more outspoken than the USOC.

"It's absolutely embarrassing that there are countries and people who are that intolerant and that ignorant," said Miller, the veteran Alpine skier who has won five Olympic medals. "My main emotion when I hear and deal with situations like that is embarrassment. As a human being, I think it's embarrassing."

Wagner, a two-time U.S. champion whose sport has a relatively long tradition of attracting gay competitors and fans, was visibly less comfortable and less direct.

"I have gay family members, and I have a lot of friends in the LBGT community," she began. "I'm so nervous to talk about this. But I have a firm stance that we should all have equal rights. At the same time, it is not my place to go into Russia and tell them how to run their country."

But more typical among the assembled Americans were figure skaters Jeremy Abbott and Evan Lysacek, the defending gold medalist, both of whom tried to sidestep the questions.

"It's a very polarized issue," Abbott said. "There's no way to answer this question properly without offending somebody. That's why we all feel we are walking on eggshells. . . . We have to be cautious about what we say."

Fellow skater Agnes Zawadzki went even further, professing an ostrichlike hope that the potential distraction would not intrude on her preparations.

"I'm not there to make a difference," said Zawadzki, 19. "I want to focus on myself and what I have to do well to compete well at the Olympics."

The Russian law outlaws any attempt to expose minors to information portraying gay relationships in a positive light. Its provisions mandate a hefty fine and up to 15 days in prison for violators, including non-Russians.

Part of the dilemma confronting the USOC is the fact that the International Olympic Committee charter, while outlawing racial, religious, and sexual discriminations, contains no specific language on gay bias.

The charter does, however, ban any "political, religious or racial propaganda," threatening violators with expulsion.

USOC officials said that while the United States would not likely join any official public protest, it would support amending the charter to add an antigay provision.

"First and foremost, we're a sports organization, and we're the only organization in the world whose job it is to make sure American athletes get the chance to compete in the Olympic Games," Blackmun said. "We're not an advocacy organization or a human rights organization.

"But we are a part of the Olympic movement, and what we can do is advocate for change. Anything we can do within the international and U.S. Olympic movement [we will]. We want all our athletes regardless of any distinguishing characteristics or orientation to feel comfortable."

Talk of an American boycott, which happened the last time the Olympics were held in Russia (the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow), has yet to gain any real traction. And given the growing commitment to corporate sponsors and television broadcasters, such a threat seems unrealistic.

"I personally don't think there's any upside to a boycott," said Larry Probst, USOC chairman. "Talk about that has pretty much died down. Obviously, the athletes aren't in favor of that. . . . I think that's a nonissue at this point."

New IOC president Thomas Bach said recently that Russia had guaranteed him there would be no discrimination during the first Winter Games that nation has hosted.

"We have the assurances of the highest authorities in Russia," Bach said. "I spoke with the Russian delegation here, and they reassured us that the Olympic charter will fully apply for all the participants of the Games."

The issue has become so ubiquitous in advance of Sochi that when the German ski team recently unveiled its colorful uniforms, many, referencing the rainbow symbol of the LGBT community, speculated that it was a protest against the Russian law.

"The uniform is not a protest," explained Christian Klaue, a spokesman for the German Olympic Sports Confederation. "This is just a fashionable jacket."

Curiously, Johnny Weir, the Coatesville native who skated in the previous two Olympics, decided in September not to compete in Sochi. The three-time American champion, who is both gay and a fervent Russophile, said it had nothing to with his sexual orientation. At 29, ancient by the sport's standards, Weir has competed at only one event since the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and he withdrew from that with an injury.

In July, Weir told CBS that if he were a competitor at Sochi, he would risk arrest to defy the law.

"If it takes me getting arrested for people to pay attention and for people to lobby against this law," he said, "then I'm willing to [do so]."