news
01-19-2016, 05:36 PM
Gus Kenworthy was widely praised (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=rachael-oakesash/how-usa-olympic-skier-gus_b_8363184.html) for opening up about his sexuality (http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/13942305/olympic-freeskier-x-games-star-gus-kenworthy-first-openly-gay-action-sports-athlete) in an October ESPN Magazine cover story, but the 24-year-old Olympian had originally considered a different, more dramatic approach.
On Monday, the professional freeskier told Conan O'Brien (http://teamcoco.com/video/gus-kenworthy-coming-out?playlist=featured-videos) that he'd thought about coming out as gay in a very public way at the 2014 Winter Olympics (http://www.olympic.org/sochi-2014-winter-olympics) in Sochi, Russia, where he nabbed a silver medal.
"Leading into the Russian Olympics there was all this anti-LGBT legislature (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2014/02/06/russia-enforcing-gay-propaganda-_n_4737521.html) and they had warned people about, like, if you’re gay, or if any of the athletes are gay, like, try not to show it because it’s very unsafe, it’s not accepted," he said. "And I was like, 'That’s bullsh*t!'"
Kenworthy, who had a boyfriend at the time, noted:
"[We] had kind of talked about landing the best run ever and winning an Olympic gold medal and kissing him at the bottom and… that would be my way of telling everyone. But it didn’t happen. I’m glad it didn’t because I hadn’t told my mom, my dad, my brothers. It would have not only been a shock to the sport and to the Olympics, but my family would have been like, 'What the hell?'"
Instead, Kenworthy told his family and close friends before coming out publicly in the ESPN magazine (http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/13942305/olympic-freeskier-x-games-star-gus-kenworthy-first-openly-gay-action-sports-athlete) interview. He told Conan that he's felt "massive" relief in the time since then.
"I was really nervous, but everyone, for the most part, has been so great," he said. "It just makes me feel really good."
No matter what path you chose, Gus, we're just proud to see you being authentically you.
Also on HuffPost:
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On Monday, the professional freeskier told Conan O'Brien (http://teamcoco.com/video/gus-kenworthy-coming-out?playlist=featured-videos) that he'd thought about coming out as gay in a very public way at the 2014 Winter Olympics (http://www.olympic.org/sochi-2014-winter-olympics) in Sochi, Russia, where he nabbed a silver medal.
"Leading into the Russian Olympics there was all this anti-LGBT legislature (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2014/02/06/russia-enforcing-gay-propaganda-_n_4737521.html) and they had warned people about, like, if you’re gay, or if any of the athletes are gay, like, try not to show it because it’s very unsafe, it’s not accepted," he said. "And I was like, 'That’s bullsh*t!'"
Kenworthy, who had a boyfriend at the time, noted:
"[We] had kind of talked about landing the best run ever and winning an Olympic gold medal and kissing him at the bottom and… that would be my way of telling everyone. But it didn’t happen. I’m glad it didn’t because I hadn’t told my mom, my dad, my brothers. It would have not only been a shock to the sport and to the Olympics, but my family would have been like, 'What the hell?'"
Instead, Kenworthy told his family and close friends before coming out publicly in the ESPN magazine (http://espn.go.com/olympics/story/_/id/13942305/olympic-freeskier-x-games-star-gus-kenworthy-first-openly-gay-action-sports-athlete) interview. He told Conan that he's felt "massive" relief in the time since then.
"I was really nervous, but everyone, for the most part, has been so great," he said. "It just makes me feel really good."
No matter what path you chose, Gus, we're just proud to see you being authentically you.
Also on HuffPost:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/rc/1/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/rc/2/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/rc/2/rc.htm)
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http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/a2.img (http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247388678533/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4cfb1443/sc/38/a2.htm)
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