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80 Comments
- ileftfark, on 08/24/2008, -9/+195"NBC never mentioned Mitcham’s orientation".
I didn't realize that was a necessary part of the commentary.
Announcer1: "Dara Torres is warming up for her final swim of the Olympics. She's had great luck in this event in the 1996 Games"
Announcer2: "That's true Joe, and she's a raging heterosexual, evidenced by her two kids. She's definitely not one of those gay swimmers"
Announcer1: "Yep- she does love the *****" - MikeyMoose, on 01/30/2009, -5/+55"Matthew Mitcham is the only male gay athlete"... I somehow doubt that...
- minorgods, on 08/24/2008, -4/+41So they didn't point out his sexual orientation? Maybe I'm missing something, but I would think it would be a good thing for it not being media worthy. Bet this would have said the opposite if it /would/ have been pointed out. Give that man his own water fountain!
- bieber, on 08/25/2008, -6/+40WTF? How is that even remotely relevant to announcing the event?
- HookmasterCH47, on 08/24/2008, -7/+26You didn't have to mention it if you saw his reaction to winning.
- Fjosnisse, on 08/25/2008, -4/+19So? who cares? Its not like they announce every winner .. "And the gold medal goes to the heterosexual michael phelps" (i used michael phelps cause i dont know the names of any other athletes)
edit: And also .. front page, why? - GrodyChamp, on 08/25/2008, -8/+19thinkprogress is a ***** website. Did they mention anyyone's sexual orientation? No? Then shut the hell up.
- AriaStar, on 08/25/2008, -4/+13I was gearing up to rant about how the world should hate rapists, not people who love other adults. But this?
C'mon, it's not like they bleeped out him mentioning his sexuality. They were focusing on his ability and on what's basically tabloid fodder (a lovr triangle? wedding ring debacle?). If anything, NOT making a big deal out of him being gay is similar to saying being gay is nothing out of the ordinary anymore. And in the video, he nuzzled his partner and that was okay. - inactive, on 08/25/2008, -3/+12this is hilarity at its best. lolling.
- cusoman, on 08/25/2008, -1/+6This really should go without saying. What the hell is wrong with people these days? Is it really necessary to shout your differences at the top of your lungs to everyone you meet?
HAY GUYZ, I HAD GREY HAIR WHEN I WAS 15!! - Drahkar, on 08/25/2008, -1/+6Well even more than that, not mentioning the fact that someone is gay isn't the same as censoring it.
Frankly I am glad they left it off. Gay or not, they are just normal people who won a medal. Their sexual orientation while I sure has a profound effect on their personal life, has no bearing on it. - ninjarabbits, on 08/25/2008, -2/+6especially the Winter Olympics...
* cough* male figure skating *cough* - Raphae1, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4Well he won a gold medal and people are usually interested in things like that.
Why do you know how many kids has and who is the current partner of ? - dhughes, on 08/25/2008, -0/+4 I was going to attempt a witty reply to "NBC never mentioned Mitcham’s orientation" but ileftfark you win scratch and sniff star.
Well said! - Misinformant, on 08/25/2008, -4/+8Why would they have to mention it in the first place?
Do they announce every straight winner?
Seriously I don't know. I haven't watched any of the Olympics 'cause they're a COLOSSALLY UNIMPORTANT WASTE OF TIME AND RESOURCES. - HappyScrappy, on 08/25/2008, -1/+4That's funny. Because I saw a pic of him celebrating and noticed he had a tongue stud. My mind of course wandered to what Chris Rock said about guys with tongue piercings. Chris is quite the sage.
He did a great job in the Olympics, BTW. - porkchop009, on 08/25/2008, -6/+9this is retarded.
If the fact that he was gay somehow affected his ability to perform in the event, then fine, by all means mention it.
Bringing up his orientation just because he's gay is just stupid and unnecessary.
You just know that had they mentioned the fact that he was gay, thinkprogress would have an article complaining about him being "outed" solely because he was homosexual.
If they mentioned the fact that he was gay, then it would actually be discrimination unless every single article about every single straight athlete also mentioned the fact that they are straight. - IKORKYI, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2why mention his orientation at all? there is a lot worse evil going on here, and that is that they are not reporting on the straitness of other athletes either.
I mean, these are the olympics! How can I watch them WITHOUT knowing the athletes sexual orientation!?!?!?!
Next time there are two women's beach volleyball players that are lesibians, I WANT TO KNOW. - AriaStar, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2Well, there's no mention of a girlfriend, so are you sure he's straight? Uh oh!
- 355CJ, on 08/25/2008, -4/+6They probably didn't point out the color or ethnic background of any competitors either.
Shame on NBC for not stirring things up! - Hangingtree, on 11/04/2008, -1/+3Yeah was about to post that.
new headline: Digg user MakiMaki denies existence of gay male athletes, more at 11. - oli35, on 08/25/2008, -2/+4hmmmm....nah that wasnt so funny. fail, as they say
- minorgods, on 08/25/2008, -0/+2Oh. they do in-depth features with the families of every one of the medalists . My bad.
Btw, Matt had this to say:
“Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive." - Chicken, on 08/25/2008, -1/+3Video of it please?
- styx31989, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3yeah. I came into this thinking that they went out of their way to censor it.
but then I read the article and realized they were just getting angry for not mentioning something that doesn't even need to be pointed out anyway. WHO THE HELL CARES?
he is cute though :D - cfuse, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3Remember kids, invading other countries, illegally detaining and torturing people, and creationism are all ok. Fags aren't.
- FyberOptic, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3Had NBC mentioned his orientation, gay rights people would have probably had a fit about NBC pointing it out as if it were something strange enough to garner mention. Yet when they don't mention it, since it's not relevant at all, they still get griped about. It'd be like pointing out that Bolt was black, when it was plainly obvious that he was, and more importantly, it didn't make matter.
Moral of the story: You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't. - haikuFU, on 08/25/2008, -1/+2Well, the idea behind this is that they normally show the medalist's family/spouse/etc. And they chose not to with him. Which implies that if NBC showed gayness, that they think the whole country will turn into a bunch of raging homosexuals.
Clearly, NBC is Democratic, because they didn't want to give this great gift to our republican overlords. - Owned1Up, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3I don't get it, why did anyone have to mention it? Is there some sort of olympic rule that everyone must state their sexual orientation?
- JazzCatDRP, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3Did they mention the sexual orientation of anyone else?
- AriaStar, on 08/25/2008, -3/+4The good-looking ones are the ones smart enough to not want to put up with women's *****.
~Sincerely,
A woman hoping her boyfriend won't hate her after her latest bout of PMS - swollentiki, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1Nope. Why you ask? Because IT DOESN'T MATTER! These idiots are just trying to start a controversy.
- babylonian, on 08/25/2008, -3/+4How his his orientation relevant? Where's the censorship, exactly?
- suntzusputnik, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1he's not from iran then
- Raphae1, on 09/02/2008, -0/+1If he had a girl-friend, the news certainly would report it, no?
- CitizenGeek2006, on 08/26/2008, -0/+1The point is not that NBC didn't mention his orientation, it's that they doctored his biographical details in order to omit the fact that he's gay. THAT'S THE PROBLEM. Did the vast majority of Digg members commenting on this article even READ it?!
- babylonian, on 08/25/2008, -2/+3There is a 100% chance that if NBC had gone out of their way to point out his sexuality, there would be just as much "controversy" stirred up. People will look for anything to be offended by.
- Achi11es, on 08/25/2008, -1/+2 "...Mitcham is the only male gay athlete."
Dang, I was hoping for Thomas Finchum. - JustHisWords, on 08/25/2008, -1/+2It's really hard to swallow the fact that all of you mfers are so dense that you don't even get what this story is about. You really have no understanding of the reason this story was written. The comfort of the majority. The blindness of the supremacist. Amazing.
- inactive, on 08/25/2008, -0/+1I'm a grayophobe, get away from me.
- inactive, on 08/25/2008, -1/+1and then goes on to kiss his boyfriend!
http://digg.com/politics/Gay_Olympic_Diver_Boyfrie ... - MercuryChaos, on 08/29/2008, -0/+0"It'd be like pointing out that Bolt was black, when it was plainly obvious that he was"
The thing is that it's *not* "plainly obvious" when someone's gay, which is why young GLBT people have so few well-known role models. If they'd simply mentioned that his mother and life-partner came from Australia to watch him compete, it would've been sufficient - there's nothing strange about mentioning the winner's family if they attended. - MercuryChaos, on 08/29/2008, -0/+0No one was asking them to say anything like that. If you'd actually read the article, you'd see that he got a grant so that his mother and life partner could attend the event and watch him win the gold - if he had been a straight man, and gotten a grant for his wife to come, I'm sure they would've mentioned it.
- shibagarden, on 08/25/2008, -1/+1I'm surprised that as a non-American athlete he got ANY mention at all from NBC.
- MercuryChaos, on 08/29/2008, -0/+0He specifically mentioned in an interview that he was so glad that his mother and life partner were able to come, so I'm sure he didn't mind people knowing. Nonetheless, they decided to leave it out.
If he'd said that he was glad his mother and *wife* could have come, would they have done the same? There are so few role models out there for young gay people, so few publicized examples of GLBT people excelling in their chosen field, which is why this is a pretty serious omission. - Kmartian21, on 08/25/2008, -2/+2I agree, what does sexual orientation have to do with... anything? What if someone is bisexual? should they point that out too.
- chubbybubba, on 08/25/2008, -2/+2most divers look kinda gay. I think it's the speedos and the leather wrist bands. Can't they wear full body suits or something?
- haikuFU, on 08/25/2008, -0/+0You can do it with another dude 9 times before you are gay.
- MercuryChaos, on 08/29/2008, -0/+0No, there isn't. But I think it is customary (or at least, not usual) to make some mention of the winner's family if they were there, and his mother and life partner came to watch him compete. If he'd been straight and it had been his *wife*, it would more likely have been included.
And the fact is that unless it is otherwise stated, people will assume that everyone out their is straight - so unless it's mentioned. GLBT young people won't have many role models who are like them. -
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