There has been speculation in the blogsphere and elsewhere that perhaps Johnny Weir only placed sixth in the men's figure skating competition because he was being punished for being too flamboyant - or even, gasp, acting like he might indeed be gay. Supporting this conjecture is the fact that while Weir may have arguably skated a "safer" long program, unlike those who place above him (other than Plushenko and Lysacek), Weir did not fall during his routine which was filled with artistry and skill. Sadly, from the years that I spent around competitive figure skating while my daughter was competing, I suspect that such conjecture is on target. Some of the nastiest bitches and most bitter closeted old queens seem to flock to figure skating associations: not only on the International Skating Union but on many individual national skating organizations like the USFSA in the United States. You either do things their way or you'll be screwed over. I hope Weir knows in his heart that he skated beautifully and that many of us respect him for having the courage to be himself. Xtra.ca has two stories on homophobia and the Olympics. The first looks at a complaint filed by The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians against a station that broadcast homophobic comments in connection with Weir skating performance. Here are highlights:*
The Toronto Star reports this morning that The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians is planning to file a complaint with the Canada Broadcast Standards Council for comments made on the french language television network RDS after the Olympic performance of flamboyant US figure skater Johnny Weir.
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"This may not be politically correct," announcer Claude Mailhot said in french during the segment. "But do you think he lost points due to his costume and his body language?"
"They'll think all the boys who skate will end up like him," replied his colleage Alain Goldberg. "It sets a bad example." According to The Star, The Quebec Council of Gays and Lesbians is demanding an apology from RDS. But perhaps Goldberg's remark is more symptom than cause.
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Homphobia still prevails in professional sports - the Olympics are clearly light years away from its amateur roots - and judging figure skating competitions is a least partly subjective. Maybe it's the International Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union that should be apologizing for allowing a culture of homophobia in figure skating.
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The Olympics should be above homophobic bigotry, but sadly such does not appear to be the case based on Weir's treatment. Talent and ability should be applauded and not sqaushed because the sensibilities of bigots are offended. The second story looks at the larger issues of gay athletes remaing in the closet out of fear for their careers. Here are some further highlights:
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Even as popular culture makes space for gay and lesbian lives, the sports world remains cloistered in its own heterosexist silo, says former Canadian Olympian Mark Tewksbury.
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“It’s incredible that sport has remained the last bastion of 18th-century thinking,” says Tewksbury, who brought home a gold medal for the 100 meters backstroke at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona while still closeted. Everything else has progressed, he says, but the sports world stands out as the exception, as a large closet on an increasingly open horizon.
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“Sport is still top down from policy makers,” he explained to Xtra in 2006, after the release of his book, Inside Out. “It’s very dogmatic and rule-bound. People don’t want to change rule structures. It’s by nature highly conservative. It’s pretty much the last machinations of the old-boys club.” No surprise then that Tewksbury waited until after he retired to come out.
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Buzinski is co-founder of Outsports.com, a US-based online publication dedicated to gay athletes and sport. He, too, thinks athletes don’t come out because they’re afraid of how the public, their coaches and their teammates will respond. “[Athletes] need some assurance that nothing will change and they will be treated the same,” he says, “and until they get that they will stay in the closet.”
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“There are seeds of change,” says former professional snowboarder Ryan Miller. “But there is still that dichotomy where people will come and say they don’t have a problem with [gay athletes] as long as they are not in [their] locker room.” “I don’t know if it [professional sports] is the last closet,” muses Miller. “But it is one of the last.”
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Miller speaks from personal experience. Ten years ago he was competing in Vancouver in one of his first professional snowboard competitions when he suddenly came out — a move prompted by taunts from teammates to go to a straight strip club. The move transformed his career. He eventually had to seek another team and coach.
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“Queer people in sport are not going to talk. Not if the sport is important to them…. Not at the risk of losing your professional career.” With a handful of championship titles under his belt, Johnny Weir won bronze at the US Figure Skating Championships in Spokane in January and set commentators’ tongues a-wagging with his exhibition skate to “Poker Face” by Lady Gaga. The 25-year-old is generating a lot of buzz these days and is often described as flamboyant, colourful, eccentric and a diva.
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Would the International Olympic Committee condone discrimination against athletes based on their religious beliefs? I suspect not. So why is religious based homophobia allowed?
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