Armour column: Gus Kenworthy a big winner even though he didn’t earn a medal
Moves us closer to acceptance of gays
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Not all triumphs come with a medal.
Gus Kenworthy leaves the Pyeongchang Olympics empty-handed, failing to land a run in the slopestyle final Sunday. But his heart is full, knowing what he did here is far bigger than sport. In the evolution of societal attitudes toward gays and lesbians, Kenworthy’s and Adam Rippon’s participation here will be a watershed moment.
It’s not simply that they are the first openly gay athletes to represent the USA at the Winter Olympics. It’s that they became two of the biggest American stars at these Games simply by being their authentic selves.
“The only way to really change perceptions, break down homophobia, break down barriers is through representation,” Kenworthy said Sunday afternoon.
Four years ago, Kenworthy wanted so badly to kiss his then-boyfriend after winning the silver medal in Sochi but couldn’t work up the nerve to do it. He hadn’t come out yet, either publicly or to his family, and he was petrified of the reaction.
None of that crossed his mind Sunday when he kissed boyfriend Matt Wilkas before his first run, a moment shown during NBC’s prime-time coverage.
“It’s positive. It’s great. The exposure to that is a great thing for our community,” Wilkas said. “But, also, part of me thinks, ‘Well, big deal.’ It was the tiniest kiss in the world.”
But there are still places in the world where daring to be yourself is dangerous, where being gay can get you killed. There are politicians in our own country, the president and vice president chief among them, who view members of the LGBTQ community as being somehow less, and promote policies that have no other objective than to marginalize them.
So to see Kenworthy and his boyfriend act like any other couple, to be treated like any heterosexual couple, it speaks volumes. So, too, to see Rippon being embraced from Hollywood to the heartland.
It tells bigots whose hate is rooted in fear and ignorance that gays and lesbians pose no threat. It tells children who are gay and worried about what that will mean for them that they’re OK and their sexuality will not define or limit them.
It is yet one more step in the road to true equality.
“To see somebody like this who is unashamed, unafraid … it’s game-changing. It’s life-changing. It’s reaffirming,” said Tyler Oakley, a YouTube host and LGBTQ activist who has become friends with Kenworthy and called him and Rippon “possibility models.”
“To see somebody celebrated when they’re often used to being disenfranchised, it’s a flip of the script.”
While Kenworthy and Rippon are proud of who they are and are willing standard bearers for the LGBTQ community, they look forward to the day when their sexual orientation is irrelevant. When they, or those who follow them, are known as athletes who happen to be gay rather than gay athletes.
But for that day to come, society will have to rid itself of its prejudices and fears. And there is no better way to speed that process along than when people like Kenworthy and Rippon are embraced by mainstream America.
“Gus was worried before he came out that he would lose his fan base,” said his father, Peter. “I said, ‘ You never know. You might gain a whole other fan base.’ Which is exactly what happened.”
It’s worth remembering that, during the Sochi Games, gay marriage was still about a year and a half from being legal throughout the USA. Attitudes have undergone a significant shift since then, as more and more people realize just how conventional gays and lesbians are.
They are accountants and bricklayers, teachers and clergy, actors and attorneys. They are moms and dads, husbands and wives. They are your family members, co-workers, neighbors and friends.
And, yes, they are people to be emulated and cheered.
“I was trying to remind myself that win or lose, I still have a lot to be proud of,” Kenworthy said.
Kenworthy leaves these Games without a medal, but he won something much bigger. More tolerance and acceptance, both for himself and the entire LGBTQ community.