The U.S. delegation to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia will include two openly gay athletes, tennis great Billie Jean King, and women's hockey star Caitlin Cahow. Neither the President and First Lady, nor the Vice President will be attending the opening ceremonies, a clear rebuke to Russia's harsh, homophobic policies and laws, enthusiastically pushed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, the U.S. delegation will be led by former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other dignitaries.
It is uncertain whether hostile Russians or Russian security services will create an incident in Sochi with our athletes or athletes of other nations who may have gay or lesbian athletes representing them. What is certain is that gay and lesbian athletes will win medals during the games, just not for Russia. It's their loss in more ways than one.
