Russia to arrest pro-gay Olympic Athletes

[lord gibbon]

This may just be me playing devils advocate, but would we be having this discussion if the Olympic games were say held in Saudi Arabia? They treat gays far worse than the Russian laws do, not to mention how they treat 50% of the worlds population. I doubt we would suddenly expect them to suspend their laws because of the Olympics. Perhaps we expect it because in a country like Russia there is still a large degree of freedom of speech, while at the same time these laws are quite new that we expect their laws to no longer matter.

I think the only reason why such a consideration should be made is if the selection of Russia for the Olympics was done before the new law, and had such a law existed before hand it would have excluded Russia from selection. In which case the only option is to just up and change locations denying Russia the right to host.

As much as we may hate these laws, and think they are supremely stupid, we must respect another nations right to self determination.

Well, first I don't think Saudi Arabia would be considered for the Olympics, but if it were, yes I would expect them to change the law. Russia is just more prominent in the world because it is attempting to be "developed".

[Yla]

When the Olympics are happening in Sochi, a lot of athletes are going to provoke this law (and the IOC 'no politics' rule') with various statements and actions.
I don't think the Russian national authorities are stupid enough to actually try to arrest any athletes, even if some smaller figures are beating their chests about it now. What will happen though is a lot of awkward censoring in the Russian media and outcries by anti-gay groups, which will set the Russian public's attention to this issue (I don't know how big of an issue it is in Russia at the moment, but it'll definitely be then). Some will be angry at the perverted Western provocateurs. But I also think that the law is going to lose respect if some people are allowed to flaunt their violations so publicly.

[Barbarella]

I also think that if they'd follow through with the arrests, the jails & prisons would be WAY OVERFLOWING & the cops overloaded. It wouldn't be practical. On top of that, it's bad business & PR.

[Jack Mann]

Depends on how many people decide to defy them.  If it's just a couple of hundred, I'm sure they can handle it.  Remember, not everyone will care enough to protest.  Some will think it's bad, but not worth going to jail over, or losing their shot at becoming the best in their chosen field.  Others may even agree with the Russian government's position.  And some may believe that the Olympics shouldn't be used to espouse any political/religious belief, even if they agree with it.

You can't always count on people to agree on what the right thing is, let alone to do it.

[dpareja]

One thing of note is that Moscow is currently hosting the IAAF World Championships, and I haven't heard of any arrests for this stuff as yet.

[Meshakhad]

I think we should get as many athletes as possible - including entire teams of prominent nations - to declare their support for gay rights.

[lord gibbon]

You mean something like the black power activists at the... which one was it again? '68? I feel really stupid unable to remember that. But back on topic, yeah, I'm pretty sure there's a large number of athletes who would be willing to take a stand, even if they aren't gay themselves. Olympians seem to be more liberal, at least from what I've seen.

[chitoryu12]

Whatever the case, I think there's going to be a lot of pro-homosexuality stuff going on at the Olympics purely out of protest at the host country. Russia can do whatever they want, but there's a lot of people who are willing to take a stand and risk arrest if it means they can publicly shame the country arresting them. The fact that they're going to be on such a prominent stage as the Olympic Games only increases the chance that something will happen.

I think if Russia actually had any foreign athletes arrested, it would be a total shitstorm. Especially the ones who came from very liberal or otherwise pro-gay countries.

[dpareja]

You mean something like the black power activists at the... which one was it again? '68? I feel really stupid unable to remember that. But back on topic, yeah, I'm pretty sure there's a large number of athletes who would be willing to take a stand, even if they aren't gay themselves. Olympians seem to be more liberal, at least from what I've seen.

1968 Mexico City:



(The third guy in that picture, Peter Norman, also saw his career go down the drain because of it.)

It's also worth keeping in mind that Russia is also hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2018. If bad stuff happens at the Olympics, I wonder if FIFA would move it...

[chitoryu12]

The Black Panthers are a tad different from gay rights. They actually had a poor reputation as essentially terrorists. An athlete in 2014 who publicly supports homosexuality is probably going to be praised instead of ostracized.

[dpareja]

The Black Panthers are a tad different from gay rights. They actually had a poor reputation as essentially terrorists. An athlete in 2014 who publicly supports homosexuality is probably going to be praised instead of ostracized.

Carlos and Smith weren't ostracized as such; Brundage forced the US Olympic team to kick them out (by threatening to kick out the entire US Olympic team, or at least the athletics team). Norman was ostracized in Australia, but that was pretty much because the Australian government was incredibly racist (and he was an outspoken critic of the White Australia policy).

[davedan]

You mean something like the black power activists at the... which one was it again? '68? I feel really stupid unable to remember that. But back on topic, yeah, I'm pretty sure there's a large number of athletes who would be willing to take a stand, even if they aren't gay themselves. Olympians seem to be more liberal, at least from what I've seen.

1968 Mexico City:



(The third guy in that picture, Peter Norman, also saw his career go down the drain because of it.)

It's also worth keeping in mind that Russia is also hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2018. If bad stuff happens at the Olympics, I wonder if FIFA would move it...

It was Norman who provided the gloves. They told him beforehand that they were going to do the fist salute so he could decide whether or not to stand there and he came up with the gloves.

[Jack Mann]

Kinda.  They were actually Smith's gloves.  Smith and Carlos had planned on wearing gloves for the event, but Carlos forgot his back at the village  Norman suggested they split the pair.  That's why they're using different hands. 

[dpareja]

Well, here's something more about it.

Summary: Russian pole vaulter (arguably one of the best of all time) says stuff in support of Russia's law. Meanwhile, two Swedes competed with their fingernails painted in the colours of the rainbow.

[The Illusive Man]

Fret not folks, the Olympics will bankrupt Russia too.