US Olympic skier Bode Miller slams Russia’s anti-gay laws as ‘absolutely embarrassing’

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US Olympic skier Bode Miller has slammed Russia’s anti-gay laws as being “absolutely embarrassing”.

On Monday, the five-time Olympic medal winner said: “I think it’s absolutely embarrassing that there are countries and there are people who are that intolerant and that ignorant.”

The 35-year-old said Russian’s homophobic legislation, banning gay “propaganda”, puts athletes attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in an awkward position.

“I think it’s unfortunate when they get stuffed together because there are politics in sports and athletics,” Miller said, reports the Associated Press. “They always are intertwined, even though people try to keep them separate or try to act like they’re separate. Asking an athlete to go somewhere and compete and be a representative of a philosophy and … then tell them they can’t express their views or they can’t say what they believe, I think is pretty hypocritical or unfair.”

Last week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated it was satisfied Russia’s anti-gay laws did not threaten the Olympic Charter.

In response, Amnesty International accused the IOC of missing an opportunity to defend LGBT equality in the global sporting arena.

 

 

 

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