Why was such a big deal made about NBC not mentioning that the Olympic diver that won a gold medal was gay?
Chad asked:
NBC did not say “Michael Phelps is a straight man that just won gold!”. It sounds to me like those athletes who are gay want to classify themselves almost as if they are overcoming an obstacle that they put upon themselves. Please enlighten me.
NBC did not say “Michael Phelps is a straight man that just won gold!”. It sounds to me like those athletes who are gay want to classify themselves almost as if they are overcoming an obstacle that they put upon themselves. Please enlighten me.
NBC has made athletes’ significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards’ fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh’s wedding ring debacle.
NBC discussed Mitcham’s private life by mentioning that he had quit the sport and was dealing with “personal issues,” but did not mention Mitcham’s orientation nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands.
The only openly gay male athlete in Beijing pulled off one of the great upsets at the Olympics in a spectacular fashion. If he had had cancer, or if his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was 2, or if he had just proposed to his girlfriend, they would have mentioned it. But they never showed him hugging his boyfriend, never mentioned it.