Regarding your item on gay ...
Question: Regarding
your item on gay diver Matthew Mitcham, who was quoted as saying, "I just want to be known as the Australian diver who did really well at the Olympics. It's everybody else who thinks it's special when homosexuality and elite sport go together." This is how it should be. What difference does it make if an athlete is gay, straight, black or white? They are athletes and it doesn't matter who or what they are. It's people who make a big deal out of things like this that perpetuate homophobia and racism. Athletes are athletes. Period!
Answer: True enough in principal, but at the Olympics, at least as NBC presents it, it's also a pageant of compelling personal stories, whether presented in feature form or through commentary during the events. Olympians of all types become household names for all kinds of reasons. And in many circles, athletes are also role models, depending on the circumstances of their life and triumphs. As Dennis A. writes in an e-mail: "It's sad that NBC couldn't allow Matt to be an inspiration to teens and young adults struggling with their sexuality, in much the same way Dara Torres was an inspiration to anyone who's ever felt or been told they are 'too old' to accomplish their goals (among many of the other multitudes of touching Olympic success stories)." As I noted last week, NBC didn't need to make a "big deal" out of this to make the event and the diver interesting and relevant. The network had plenty of time from when Mitcham won his gold medal earlier in the day to when the event was broadcast to produce something of note. Instead, the way they rushed away from the event, it almost felt like they were embarrassed to be dealing with an openly gay champion. And there's really no adequate excuse for that.
