By sending two defenders of gay rights to represent his country at the upcoming Winter Olympics, President Barack Obama sends a strong message to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a real hunter of homosexuals.
The delegation that will travel to the Sochi Olympics to be held from February 7 to 23 was released Tuesday by the White House. Among the athletes are former tennis player Billie Jean King, one of the first to have publicly declared his homosexuality and the hockey player Caitlin Cahow who also claims to be lesbian. No comment!
While refraining from comments, Washington seems to have sent a strong message to Moscow known for its homophobia. An Analysis fully shared by the American press. According to the New York Times, U.S. President Barack Obama has “clearly challenged this repressive Russian text “. For his part, USA Today described a “stroke of genius” by the U.S. president who clearly wanted to express his “disgust” for the anti -gay law. The newspaper praises the “stroke” of the president who also managed to send a “strong message” to support Russian athletes victims of homophobia.
The message of the American president is even clearer, according to the New York Times; the group representing the United States will be led by former Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, now president of the University of California. “This is the first time since 1988 that a delegation is not composed of a former President, a Vice -President or a member of the presidential family,” the newspaper read.
No surprise
The issue of homosexuality is a very sensitive issue in the United States in the sense that the popularity of American leaders depends on more than a title. The U.S. Senate also voted Thursday, November 7, 2013 by an absolute majority (64 votes in favor) landmark legislation prohibiting discrimination against gays, lesbians and transsexuals in the workplace. Democrat Senates who campaigned for 20 years for the adoption of this law were supported by elected Republicans.
From this summer, Barack Obama had rebelled against the Russian law stating that he had “no patience for countries seeking to intimidate or harm gays, lesbians or transsexuals.” Monday at the announcement, Washington has insisted on “diversity” of the U.S. delegation. A boost to the organizers of “Gay Games ” scheduled to take place just days after the Olympic Games in Sochi.
U.S. President Barack Obama had already announced that he could not go to Sochi for reasons of agenda. Relations between the two countries are not in good shape since Russia has granted asylum to Edward Snowden, former consultant to the NSA following revelations about American espionage on the whole world.
Many presidents have also indicated that they will not get to Sochi: French President François Hollande, without giving any reason and the German President Joachim Gauck.