Did NBC snub gay diver?

See my post from earlier in this thread.

 

I guess if partain's son is gay, he'll just change the channel.

 

No, he would just deal with it as he sees fit whenever the time comes.

 

Tough spot for NBC. A total lose-lose for them.

With a few clear exceptions, I'm pretty damn liberal and pretty damn proud of it. I don't care about anyone's sexuality except mine and my girlfriend's, and I'm not sure how others feel differently, or how they're so threatened by something that doesn't involve them. But I'm not sure what NBC was supposed to do here.

"Mitcham is talking to his teammate, Jane Doe, who he is not sexually attracted to, because he's gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Look, there's his life partner, Jon Doe — with whom he has an intimate, sexual relationship. Yep, they're not just friends! Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

I think NBC would have been wise to ignore this complaint. What were they supposed to do?

 

As has been said, the only way I see a problem here is if NBC deliberately neglected to show that diver's family/supporters/rooting contingent specifically because he is gay.

It seemed to me that it was a case of "sometimes, supporters were shown; sometimes, they weren't," and that's fine. Normal coverage decisions.

 

This isn't about the TV showing his partner. Grow up people. It's about saying that he is the first openly-gay male athlete to win gold (in a "major" sport). That's historic on some level. I don't give a crap if Carl Lewis runs out and kisses him on the lips, his victory is news-worthy to a lot of America. If NBC missed it at the time, fine. If they chose not to go there, then I'm disappointed.

 

But why? If golf gets added to the Olympics and Tiger Woods wins gold are they going to acknowledge that he's the first black and first straight golfer to win a gold medal in that sport? No.

While he may not have been "out" at the time, Louganis won gold and everyone knows he's gay now, which greatly diminishes the value of acknowledging a gay athlete winning gold.

Being gay is not a handicap or an advantage. He didn't win because of or in spite of being gay. He won because he's an excellent diver.

He won because he executed a brilliant dive. Being gay had nothing to do with that just like being straight didn't help Phelps swim any faster or Bolt cross the finish line any quicker.

I have no problem with gay people in general. It's your life, not mine, live it how you please. But I will NEVER understand how gay rights advocates can be so critical of anyone who brings sexual orientation to the forefront of a discussion yet be so demanding to have it spewed from the mountains if a gay person does something extraordinary.

Until they add bonuses to the score for being straight or gay it's completely irrelevant and has no purpose being talked about on air.