"For athletes from countries where [being gay is] not accepted, things have to change...for them to be able to come out and be those role models."From: NewNowNext
British Olympic race-walker Tom Bosworth, who proposed to his longtime boyfriend on Copacabana beach in Rio this week, spoke out about the plight of LGBT athletes from homophobic countries in a new interview with Buzzfeed.
“There are lots of countries still where you can’t be out, let alone be a sportsperson at the Olympic Games and be out,” he said. “I can’t imagine being in that situation where back home it is still illegal.”
There are at least 45 out athletes competing in Rio, not counting the closeted athletes who aren’t able to publicly come out as gay over fear of the repercussions they’ll face back home.
Bosworth came out in October 2015, a luxury he knows other athletes don’t have.
“There are lots of countries still where you can’t be out, let alone be a sportsperson at the Olympic Games and be out. I can’t imagine being in that situation where back home it is still illegal,” he said.
In a separate interview with Attitude, Bosworth discussed the importance of living out and proud as a public figure.
He said YES!!! pic.twitter.com/roXsw7oq8f— Tom Bosworth (@TomBosworth) August 15, 2016
“I’ve always said it, by living openly, you know, if I can help one person then that would be really important for me, it means a lot,” he said.
“Originally I had never realised how a big deal this was. And how people look at it and now I really realise that over the last year, the kind of responsibility on my shoulders now and I’m happy to have that and I want to honour that.”
Asked for his feelings about the Daily Beast scandal that plagued Week 1 of the Olympics, Bosworth said: “I don’t think it should be brushed under the carpet just by sending him home.”
Though the Beast and Hines have not confirmed it, the IOC reportedly yanked Hines’ credentials and sent him back to London after he published a lewd article that could have potentially outed some athletes from nations where their sexuality is illegal.
“It’s a disgusting act. It’s bullying,” said Bosworth. “It could put people’s lives in danger. It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen a journalist do. I don’t think he should write another article again. There was no thought behind what he did. He just wanted a story.”
Ultimately, though, he feels the overarching homophobia at the Olympics are an issue that the IOC can’t deal with. It has to be something the world deals with together.
Said Bosworth: “Can sporting governing bodies do more to combat homophobia? Absolutely. But I think for athletes from countries where it’s not accepted, things have to change at home first – for their own safety, and for them to be able to come out and be those role models. The world needs to change.”
As for his new engagement, Bosworth said he’s looking forward to getting back home and experiencing life with his fiance, Harry Dineley. In the future, he said the two “would definitely love to adopt children someday.”
“I’m glad I managed to shock him,” Bosworth added. “He probably knew I was going to do it, but afterwards he said, ‘I didn’t think you would have brought the ring out with you and I didn’t think you were going to do it in the end.’”
Congrats, guys!
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