UN Hits Back at Russia Protest by USOC Sponsor

(ATR) Reacting to U.S. Olympic Committee sponsor AT&T condemning Russia’s anti-gay law, the UN’s special adviser on sport tells Around the Rings the protest "disturbs the Olympic peace and spirit."

On Wednesday, the telecommunications company criticized Russia's controversial anti-gay propaganda law in a post on it's website. "Russia's law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it's harmful to a diverse society," AT&T said, calling for other corporations to join the protest. "We want to be on record with our support for the LGBT community."

In exclusive comments to ATR, the UN official Wilfried Lemke hit back.

"We are here to celebrate the most important sport event in the world, the Olympic Games. If somebody wants to discuss other things than sport they can do this. But discussions about political issues should not be done on the backs of the Games and the athletes," he said.

Asked if it was a shame that the furore of the anti-gay law had overshadowed preparations, he said LGBT rights activists and others opposing the Russian law "have the right to criticise whatever they want."

"I am here with thousands of people who are very happy to be here and to honor the athletes from all parts of the world—female, male and I don’t care which sexual orientation they have," he said.

"I don’t care about their religion or color of skin, they are human beings and I respect all of them. However, discussions about political issues should take place in the appropriate spaces, not in the official Games space.

"This disturbs the Olympic peace and spirit. I want to celebrate with them."

So what was his message to those planning to launch further protests against Russia’s human rights record in the coming days and through the Games.

"I respect their opinion. But this is first and foremost a sports event, not a political forum."

He added: "I think they should also respect our opinion that this is a sports event and not a discussion about sexual orientation. We are here to celebrate the Olympic Games and spirit."

Written by Mark Bisson.

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