Gay Olympian Wins Shock Gold, Network Doesn't Mention His Sexuality
Thursday 28th August 2008
On Saturday the sporting world saw one of the greatest performances ever, and it just happened to be done by a gay man.
Pinke.biz reported earlier in the year on Matthew Mitcham, the Australian 10-metre platform diver who came out in a newspaper interview in May. His event was one of the last of the Olympics.
The Chinese divers were heavily favoured in Mitcham’s event, and rightfully so. In fact, following the fifth round it seemed almost certain that frontrunner Luxin Zhou would walk away with the top spot for the host country. The key word, however, is almost.
Going into the last round of dives, Mitcham needed to make up more than 30 points to take gold from Zhou. He elected to go with a back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists. He nailed it.
Mitcham scored an awe-inspiring 112 on his last dive, snatching the final gold and ending China’s attempt at a diving medal sweep. After collapsing in tears once his win had sunk in, he sought out his mother and then his boyfriend, kissing his partner as the cameras rolled.
But not all the cameras were telling the same story about Mitcham. NBC has been accused of censorship and possible homophobia following their somewhat odd decision to ignore Mitcham’s sexuality during the games.
Olympic coverage has a long tradition of including a vast and varied amount of background information on the athletes, many of whom are unfamiliar to television audiences. A story like a gay athlete rising to prominence, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, sounds like something that network television would snatch up.
Not so for NBC. The American broadcasters made no mention of Mitcham’s sexuality, angering activists around the world.
NBC has since issued an apology on the blog AfterElton.com. NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel told AfterElton: “We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham’s story. We apologize for this unintentional omission.”
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
Pinke.biz reported earlier in the year on Matthew Mitcham, the Australian 10-metre platform diver who came out in a newspaper interview in May. His event was one of the last of the Olympics.
The Chinese divers were heavily favoured in Mitcham’s event, and rightfully so. In fact, following the fifth round it seemed almost certain that frontrunner Luxin Zhou would walk away with the top spot for the host country. The key word, however, is almost.
Going into the last round of dives, Mitcham needed to make up more than 30 points to take gold from Zhou. He elected to go with a back two and a half somersault with two and a half twists. He nailed it.
Mitcham scored an awe-inspiring 112 on his last dive, snatching the final gold and ending China’s attempt at a diving medal sweep. After collapsing in tears once his win had sunk in, he sought out his mother and then his boyfriend, kissing his partner as the cameras rolled.
But not all the cameras were telling the same story about Mitcham. NBC has been accused of censorship and possible homophobia following their somewhat odd decision to ignore Mitcham’s sexuality during the games.
Olympic coverage has a long tradition of including a vast and varied amount of background information on the athletes, many of whom are unfamiliar to television audiences. A story like a gay athlete rising to prominence, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, sounds like something that network television would snatch up.
Not so for NBC. The American broadcasters made no mention of Mitcham’s sexuality, angering activists around the world.
NBC has since issued an apology on the blog AfterElton.com. NBC Olympics President Gary Zenkel told AfterElton: “We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham’s story. We apologize for this unintentional omission.”
Do you want to join Pinke's team of paid writers? We're looking for writers all over the world to write about the gay issues that matter all over the globe. We're particularly looking for travel writers and writers in Asia/Africa/the Middle East, but we'll consider anyone with great writing skills and an interest in the subject. Email Pinke editor Robert Knox with a writing sample for more information.
Thursday, 28 August 2008 16:24
Wow, this is dumb. "Michael Phelps wins another gold, and oh by the way, he loves boning women!"Darren
Thursday, 28 August 2008 16:31
I already guessed so. Not only did he seem gay, but so did a lot of the others. i wouldnt be surprised if over half of them were homosexual. Im not prejudice.. but to me it seemed pretty obvious alreadyme
Sunday, 07 September 2008 22:18
His homosexuality is not the defining feature of his personality, nor is it even relevant to him winning the medal. Mentioning it outside of an interview into his personal life would be pointless.John
