Pro-gay and pro-Sochi

It’s possible to be pro-gay rights and also pro-Sochi 2014.

Many members of the LGBT community and gay rights supporters have called for a boycott against watching the winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has graciously said that gays, including those on the U.S. Olympic team, are welcome in Sochi — as long as they “leave the kids alone,” because he equates homosexuals to pedophiles.

Many media outlets are also reporting a surge of homophobic acts of violence against gay people.

Research from the organization Human Rights Watch has found that the current political climate in Russia “expose(s) LGBT people to further harassment and violence and embolden(s) the attackers.”

An authoritative statement against the gay community gives homophobes incentive to take their hatred to the next step.

The problem with a Sochi boycott in protest of Russia’s anti-gay stance is that it actually does little to promote gay rights. The people who are punished the most are the athletes.

President Barack Obama, along with other Western political leaders, declined to attend Friday’s Opening Ceremony.

Furthermore, he chose a U.S. delegation that includes three openly gay athletes. These strategies are more symbolic than anything else, but they make quite a big statement — the U.S. government does not support such blatant homophobic views.

The advantage of this symbolic, pro-gay rights message is that it gets the point across without hurting the athletes.

I do not understand, however, the idea of American viewers boycotting their televisions.

I support the right of the LGBT community to refrain from watching the games if they find Russia’s current political climate to ruin the experience for them. But Olympic athletes don’t just benefit from being at the games. They benefit from the millions of viewers.

The athletes signed up to be on one of the biggest international stages in sports, and they should receive that.

It also seems counter-intuitive to deprive gay athletes of their right to the recognition they would have gotten at any other Olympics.

They should not have to sacrifice any part of their experience because of Putin’s bigotry.

If we blame an ugly piece of legislation on the athletes, we are allowing it to disrupt the experience gay and straight athletes have dreamed about.  Obama’s snub of the games was a big enough move politically to already make a statement against Putin and his administration.

At this point, personal refusal to watch the Olympics doesn’t do much except deny athletes the recognition they deserve.

There is a time for boycotts and protests against homophobia.

The Olympics are not that time.     

­— cjellert@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Caroline Ellert on Twitter @cjellert.