Gus’ LGBT pride trumps politics
When are Donald Trump and Mike Pence going to learn they can’t win a fight with young, strong athletes? America loves its sports heroes. Politicians? Not so much.
Gus Kenworthy, a gay skier from Telluride, owns an Olympic silver medal. Steph Curry, who’s black, has twice been honored as the NBA’s most valuable player. Chris Long, a white defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles, won the Super Bowl after donating his paychecks to fund scholarships in a Virginia city bloodied by racial discord.
What do these three athletes have in common?
They’re all-American sports heroes that don’t need no stinkin’ approval from the White House to do what feels right in their hearts.
Just as Curry wanted no part of congratulations from a president he regards as intolerant after winning the NBA championship,
and Long donated $1 million to his hometown of Charlottesville after marches by white supremacists ended in tragic violence, Kenworthy has embraced his role as an LGBT leader at the Olympics, even if it means irking the White House.
Taking aim at a Trump administration that refuses to embrace the LGBT community and has supported a homophobic baker in Colorado, Kenworthy released a photo on Instagram of him hugging openly gay figure skater and U.S. Olympic teammate Adam Rippon at the opening ceremony, with a not-so-subtle message to the vice president: “Eat your heart out, Pence.”
I’m not certain this is what Trump had in mind when he vowed to make America great again, but his presidency has been the catalyst for activism from athletes across a rainbow coalition of sports not seen since Muhammad Ali refused to fight in the Vietnam War during the 1960s.
“Although I’ve made it very clear who I am, and I think I’ve taken a step in sort of a leadership role for the LGBT community, because there isn’t a ton of representation at the Games, it’s also just me, and I’m just being myself,” Kenworthy said Sunday.
Unlike the last time he competed for an Olympic medal in slopestyle, Kenworthy is loud and proud at these Winter Games. He got famous as the adopt-a-stray-dog guy in Sochi. He wants to make noise for a bigger social issue in South Korea.
Is giving a strong, confident voice to the LGBT community a distraction in his quest for gold? Heck, no. When Kenworthy was keeping his sexual orientation a secret during the Olympics in Russia, he felt it was far more stressful. “I was in the closet, and I was always in fear of outing myself,” said Kenworthy, who came out in 2015.
In one of those frivolous exchanges between media and athletes that often take place at the Super Bowl or Olympics, Kenworthy was asked if he would ever consider being the flag-bearer for the United States at the opening ceremony, and if selected, does he have the six-pack abs to carry the stars and stripes without his shirt on, like that now-famous dude from Tonga?
“I doubt I’ll be the flag-bearer if I make it to another Games,” said Kenworthy, chuckling at the idea. “But I’ll definitely take my shirt off if I get it.”
For a country he loves, Kenworthy is not only willing to bare his chest, but beat it with pride for the LGBT community. He enjoyed hanging out with Rippon, but like his unabashedly homosexual teammate, Kenworthy had absolutely no desire to meet Pence during the vice president’s visit to the Winter Games.
Kenworthy is gay. Hear him roar. Should he win a medal again, Kenworthy would not accept an invitation to the White House, saying, “I’d be proud not to go.” His handsome face is an advertisement for inclusion, as well as yogurt, automobiles and designer clothing, to name a few of Kenworthy’s endorsement deals.
Some fans cringe while listening to Kenworthy’s open discussion about his sex life, insisting it’s too much information. That doesn’t make them bigots. But, in the age of Trump, when the fringes of society feel increasingly threatened by the president, somebody strong needs to stand up to the bullying.
Wish our athletes, from the NFL to the Olympics, would stick to sports?
Well, here’s your answer: Kenworthy has also posted a photograph of himself on Twitter, wearing the Team USA sweater and giving Rippon a kiss on the cheek.
Kenworthy added a caption to the photo, making his mission at the Olympics crystal clear: “We’re here. We’re queer. Get used to it.”