IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau, asked about the appeals, noted that the Olympic Charter "clearly states that any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement."Not a very good answer, IOC, to quote language that says you shouldn't be doing what you're doing. If anything, that language backs the folks who say you should be dumping anti-gay countries.
And for that matter, then why is the IOC letting Russia ban a Pride House at the 2014 games?
Russia, host of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, has a checkered record on gay rights, and a regional court -- citing a potential threat to Russian society -- has upheld Sochi officials' rejection of a proposed "Pride House" to welcome gays and lesbians at the games.And what was the IOC's response? The same BS quote of the Olympic Charter, and then nothing.
As for Russia's "checkered record" on gay civil rights.... St. Petersburg has banned the mention of the word "gay" in public (no word on how they feel about the word "Nazi"), and Moscow just banned Pride for the next 100 years. Checkered is putting it nicely.
Let's just admit that the Olympics are about corporations, just like everything else in the world today, and put the cute little "we are the world" quotes to rest once and for all.
