Sochi Not the First Gay Rights Issue

Sochi 2014 is not the first Olympic Committee to face gay-rights issues during preparations for an Olympic Games. Before the 1996 Summer Olympics, the same issues fell right into the lap of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) – mainly concerning the Cobb County venue in line to host preliminary rounds of volleyball.

"Olympics Out of Cobb"

In August 1993, a small county north of Atlanta was prepared to host volleyball competitions for the Summer Games. But when the Cobb County Commission passed a resolution that declared homosexuality "incompatible with community standards," a media firestorm and protests built throughout the area.

Cobb County’s 1993 resolution opposed a decision by the Atlanta City Council to allow gays to add a domestic partner to their city insurance program. Gay rights activists took to the streets of Marietta and even staged a mock volleyball competition in the town square.

By 1994, much of the country was divided over the resolution. Consumers across the United States called for a Cobb "BUYcott." The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) said it would pressure Coca-Cola and Atlanta Olympic organizers to move volleyball competitions out of Cobb County. The issue eventually gained international attention. Calls for an Atlanta Olympics boycott spread throughout the globe.

"They got aggressive in a hurry," Former ACOG Communications Director Dick Yarbrough tells Around the Rings. "Cobb County dug in their heels in a hurry. And it became a win/lose situation."

Martina Navratilova still chose to play in her World Team Tennis match in the county, but called Cobb commissioners "ignorant for resolutions condemning gay lifestyles."

Navratilova added, "I think if you boycott for those reasons, you’re just running away from the problem. And that’s what these people want. They want to get rid of us. We’re doing them a favor by running away."

Olympic diver Greg Louganis stunned an audience in 1994 during his acceptance speech for an award when he called for Cobb County to be dropped as an Olympic venue.

"When I was introduced I got a standing ovation," Louganis tells Around the Rings, "When I accepted the award, there was polite applause."

Cobb Commission Chairman Bill Byrne blamed the media for the sudden, international focus on the county: "Our hope has always been for everybody to come out of this in a win-win situation. But we can’t do that as long as this is played out in the Marietta Daily Journal on the front page."

ACOG and the IOC

ACOG felt mounting pressure to make a decision, and Yarbrough says ACOG’s stance on gay rights did not matter. "I was neither an advocate nor an opponent. I was a person trying to resolve the problem."

The Hula Report, the original name of Around the Rings, reported on the Cobb County resolution leading up to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch’s 1994 visit to Atlanta:

"The IOC is not likely to enter this fray publicly, but private communications are already underway to keep IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch informed of what’s being done to resolve this latest controversy in Atlanta."

The IOC made its preliminary visits Atlanta and gave ACOG "high marks." Samaranch and the Executive Board steered clear of demonstrations and debates surrounding the Cobb County resolution.

Following unsuccessful attempts to revise the resolution, ACOG moved venues out of Cobb County.

"There were just a few events scheduled for Cobb County," Louganis says. "I think it was a little bit easier for them to just change venues. I think they utilized Athens (Georgia) and that was significant. That was really making a statement."

Yarbrough insists the decision was based solely on practicality: "You reach a point where you say ‘we have to fish or cut bait.’ It became obvious to us that we had to move it.

"To those on the outside, it was a social issue; to us it was logistical."

Then and Now

The Russian government is defending its recent legislation. Activists are calling on Olympic committees and sponsors to boycott Sochi. Overall, athletes are still training but dividing over concerns about the Russian LGBT community. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko blames media coverage for global outrage over the gay propaganda ban. And the IOC is awaiting clarification on Russia’s new law.

In response to boycott proposals, Greg Louganis says:

"I can attest that Olympic boycotts really hurt the wrong people." Louganis adds, "Boycotts of commerce and business work. It’s proven."

Top sponsors such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, P&G, and Visa are facing mounting pressure to respond to Russia’s anti-gay legislation. Louganis calls out Procter and Gamble in particular:

"Procter and Gamble has come forward as being so LGBT-friendly. Put your money where your mouth is."

Despite similarities between the Cobb County saga and Sochi’s situation, 2014 organizers face very different obstacles. The Cobb Commission passed a resolution whereas the Russian government has passed a national law. ACOG only changed a preliminary volleyball venue and the route for the 1996 Olympic torch relay. Sochi 2014 would confront a wider range of logistical challenges.

Yarbrough describes the Cobb County controversy as "a little fire that began to burn slowly then increased. I think today that would not be the case."

Today, activists and groups utilize an ever-growing social media platform to respond to Russia’s treatment of its LGBT community.

"We’re living in a new age," Louganis says.

He adds, "We’ve got Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Linked In. We’ve got all of these avenues for communication globally, [and] we can get glimpses into what’s happening around the world."

Yarbrough implores organizers to reflect on motives for hosting the Games: "It’s a great peacetime gathering, so why do you want to do it in an adversarial environment?"

When asked what would have happened at the 1996 Olympics if ACOG chose to keep the volleyball venue in Cobb County, Yarbrough says he suspects the "controversy would have continued to grow."

He adds, "Ironically, neither the ‘Olympics Out of Cobb’ group nor the ‘Family Values’ group seemed to disagree with our position to move preliminary volleyball to Athens."

Only time will tell how the IOC, Olympic sponsors, athletes, fans, and the Russian government handle this latest gay-rights controversy at the Sochi Games. Yarbrough points out a lesson learned during the "Olympics Out of Cobb" movement:

"The adversaries underestimated the enthusiasm that the public had for the Games."

And in response to the potential for demonstrations at the Sochi Olympics, Yarbrough says: "Do that somewhere else, don’t mess the Games up."

Written byNicole Bennett.

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