Did a gay just qualify for the 100m final at US Olympic trials?

By Forum Mithani • July 1, 2008 - 15:23

Tyson Gay's 100m time displayed on board photo: schmuelick@flickr.com

7 Comments on Did a gay just qualify for the 100m final at US Olympic trials?

An American Christian news service's blanket policy of replacing all uses of the word "gay" with "homosexual" has backfired in embarrassing fashion.

OneNewsNow.com, a division of the American Family News Network, had been using an auto-replace feature, which resulted in top sprinter Tyson Gay being renamed "Tyson Homosexual" in stories on their website.

This led to misleading headlines such as "Homosexual eases into 100 final at Olympic trials" and "Close call: Homosexual barely averts major flop in 100″.

"Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has.

"His time of 9.68 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials Sunday doesn't count as a world record, because it was run with the help of a too-strong tailwind. Here's what does matter: Homosexual qualified for his first Summer Games team and served notice he's certainly someone to watch in Beijing."

"It means a lot to me," the 25-year-old Homosexual said. "I'm glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me." […] After the race, Homosexual and Dix looked at each other and slapped palms, then hugged.

The AFN, which claims to "present the day's stories from a Biblical perspective" and has over 1,200 broadcast, print and online affiliates worldwide, has reportedly made some corrections, but is still running a story on pro basketball player Rudy Gay, in which he is referred to as "Rudy Homosexual."

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