Openly g*y diver wins gold. Your thoughts?

Question

Saturday, Aug 23, 2008 5:02 pm EDT

By Maggie Hendricks

Diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly g*y male athlete in the Beijing Olympics, won gold in the 10m platform. He beat Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin by 4.8 points, preventing China from sweeping gold in diving events. Mitcham is the first Aussie to win diving gold since 1924, but that's not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.

He is hardly the first g*y athlete to compete but he is one of the first to be out while competing. American diver Greg Louganis did not share his orientation until his diving career was over. To Mitcham, he is just living his life as a g*y man and as a diver, and there is nothing extraordinary about that:

“Being g*y and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive."

Though he wants to be known as more than a g*y man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the g*y community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?

To Mitcham, that doesn't seem to matter. He has gold, and has reached his goals: "I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done.”

UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. 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.

Answer 1

I'm going to assume that you're American because of your picture. In Australia they interviewed the guy's mum and boyfriend on channel Ten. I think it wasn't shown because it's not really an important issue. I would be annoyed if they continually called him the "openly g*y diver" on tv.

I think it's good that he won gold, not because he's g*y but because it breaks down a few stereotypes and shows that, if you are g*y, you can still have a successful career without staying in the closet.

Oh and "Jenny Kim", acknowledging that somebody has a boyfriend is not "throwing their sexuality in your face". And just so you know, having straight couples plastered all over the media, in tv shows, in movies and in every single ad, is actually having heterosexuality thrown in OUR faces.

Answer 2

Another example of homosexuality being trumpeted and thrown in our faces.  

Many, many openly straight athletes have also won golds.   Their sexual orientation is not being thrown in our faces, though.

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Answer 3

Whoo he won gold. Who cares what else?

Answer 4

why is showing the guy's boyfriend important?

and they probably showed the love triangle because, hmmmm they're olympic athletes!

i like this guy!

everybody is focusing on his orientation and he hates that!

i dont get why its such a big deal. being g*y has nothing to do with diving so why should everyone focus on that.

Answer 5

My thoughts- why does it matter?

That's one thing I will never understand...why is it anyone's business who is having s*x with who, whether it be straight men and women, women and women or men and men. Why should we be allowed an opinion on what someone else is doing in THEIR private life....JMO anyway. =)

Answer 6

I asked something about this too after I read the article on Yahoo. and this was the best answer for me:

Growing up, there were no great heroes like Matthew Mitchum for young lgbt people to look up to and admire.

Telling the whole story about his life is a way of giving hope to people struggling with their sexuality.

I'm pretty sure the reason NBC don't tell the story is they don't want to risk upsetting their conservative advertisers and viewers, who prefer to hate in the comfort of their own homes than actually think about these issues.

It does not change his great achievement, though, or the fact that he has a loving and supportive family and that most people in Australia are proud of him!

How many people in the world could do what he did? ONE! Gooooooooooo Matthew :-)

Cheers :-)

The guy's name is thing55001 * Blocked By Idiots

Answer 7

Im glad they didnt and i'm sure Mitcham wouldnt have it any other way.

Him being g*y is soo no big deal. The big deal should be him winning the Gold and breaking the lucky number 8 for the chinese. I think NBC's non-mention (whether with homophic intention or not) was appropriate.

However, either way it is definately giving him more publicity which is great for him cause he deserves it.

Answer 8

I think he is really cute and I would totally date him! =)

Haha  But I think it's wonderful!  He totally deserves it. =)  

It makes we LGB folk look even better!  ^_^

Answer 9

He is not the first by any means. Does anyone here remember Greg Louganis?

Answer 10

I read the article earlier this evening.  He's a cute guy, I congratulate him for his accomplishment. I believe his intentions are good but I have to wonder if he'll now always be known as that openly g*y guy that won a gold medal.  The article didn't mention any lesbians competing in anything.  I'd venture to say that there are more than a few.

Answer 11

Now that's a well rounded definition of g*y, the guy is really REALLY happy!

Answer 12

it doesn't matter what your orientation is.

its good that he got a medal though

Answer 13

congrats to him!

Answer 14

just the fact that its a big deal to a lot of people shows how up tight, conservative and predjudist society can be. it should be he won a metal. not hes g*y and he won a metal. no one says he/she is straight and won a metal. and its not this is everything. you know that though. my thought is that i wish the world would move on.

Answer 15

i though it was totally obvious he was g*y

Answer 16

he's cute, and he was so g*y on TV, it was fun.

10 bucks says I saw is bf on NBC even though they said nothing....

Answer 17

Congrats on him. His effort has been paid off. Congrats!!!

Answer 18

Seems that in the last 6-8 years, most of the population is suddenly g*y, and its okay for anyone to be open. It's accepted all over television, so I can't see where the big deal is there. But who cares that NBC didn't get a shot of his boyfriend. Had they done that, perhaps there would have been controversy over that. Why does everything have to be construed as discriminating. Live and let live.

Answer 19

Wow NBC sucks...