Prior to last Friday's opening ceremonies for the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said this at a dinner.
"Your presence is another demonstration of how the Olympic Games go beyond the sport," Bach said. "Your presence shows that the sport is in the middle of a diverse and modern society. Like the athletes, we have come together from different parts of the world to celebrate our diversity. Thank you for coming and for sharing with us this Olympic spirit of peace and solidarity."
Peace and solidarity. Athletes from around the world come to compete on the world's stage knowing that they are in a safe environment, to celebrate their achievement, and not be shamed.
Nico Hines of The Daily Beast, a reporter given credentials to cover the games and have access to the athlete's village, violated this safe environment for many athletes with a recent story, that has since been pulled by The Daily Beast, practically outing athletes who he met through different dating apps like Tinder and Grindr.
The premise of the story, at the very least, was a juvenile and unprofessional approach. Even though he didn't give names, he did about everything else but to do that to reveal their identities, especially those who choose to remain in the closet. Especially those who need to stay in the closet for fear of repercussion from their country.
Yes, they were on an app that anyone could see and make contact with, but Hines wasn't looking for the reason that many go on there, he was a straight, married guy hoping to make some news and boast his ego, violating everything that goes into the spirit of the Olympics.
I have tweeted demanding that his credentials be pulled by the IOC and asking others to do the same.
"I'm calling for the #IOC @iocmedia to pull @NicoHines credentials for his unprofessional @TheDailyBeast report on finding closet LGBT athletes."
Coming out of the closet is a personal choice, and that person knows when the best time and place is to do it. Not a reporter looking for a scoop.
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