Openly gay Tongan athlete Amini Fonua responded to that gross article from The Daily Beast that might have outed gay athletes today, and he did not come here to play!
As an out gay athlete from a country that is still very homophobic, @thedailybeast ought to be ashamed #deplorable https://t.co/qzS9rDFJwx— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
Fonua competed in Rio in the men's 100-meter breaststroke, so he knows plenty of the athletes in Rio personally. He says what The Daily Beast did is dangerous, and called out the writer for putting people in harm's way in the name of "clickbait journalism."
@NicoHines You fucking disgust me. Do you realize how many people's lives you just ruined without any good reason but clickbait journalism?— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
In case you didn't know, The Daily Beast ran an article written by a reporter who downloaded Grindr and wrote about the men he chatted with. The original piece had enough details to ID some of the athletes, some of whom are from countries where being gay is a crime. It has since been amended.
@NicoHines Some of these people you just outed are my FRIENDS. With family and lives that are forever going to be affected by this— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
We agree with Amini 100% on this one.
Imagine the one space you can feel safe, the one space you're able to be yourself, ruined by a straight person who thinks it's all a joke?— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
Amini himself is from a country where homophobia is a big problem. Tonga still has anti-sodomy laws on the books, though they are considered out of date today.
@NicoHines & @thedailybeast 1 of the guys you just outed is only 18 years old... I was 18 once & nowhere near ready to come out, fuck you.— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
We appreciate Amini for speaking his mind and for being such a great advocate for our community!
No straight person will ever know the pain of revealing your truth, to take that away is just... I can't. It literally brings me to tears 😭😭— Amini Fonua (@AminiFonua) August 11, 2016
Oh, and for what it's worth, it also looks like he knows Pita Taufatofua, the Tongan flag bearer who stole everyone's hearts in the Olympic opening ceremony.
Thank you for your voice, Amini!
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