Yet another sign that there is nothing to lose by coming out of the closet, openly gay Olympic speedskater Blake Skjellerup has gotten an endorsement deal with Air New Zealand to promote their new “Cuddle Class.” I’m not sure if it means the seats are so small you’ll feel like you’re cuddling with your neighbor, or whether Blake will be there to keep you warm; In any case, it’s a great sign.
I think it’s safe to say that Skjellerup would not have gotten this deal if he hadn’t come out. Maybe I’m wrong. But either way, him coming out certainly didn’t hurt.
Hat tip to AfterElton.
on Jul 30th, 2010 at 6:28 AM
“Cuddle class” is made for spooning. While flying Air New Zealand, “spooning” is OK, but “forking” is not. Remember that, kids.
http://www.youtube.com/user/airnewzealand#p/a/u/1/-djpj_x_Q-Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87JfbDbYFU0
on Jul 30th, 2010 at 7:48 AM
He could have made my last flight from NZ to LA a “forking” lot more bearable.
on Jul 30th, 2010 at 7:13 PM
I think with there have being so many mainstream media stories now about gay athletes – the reaction to an active gay athlete coming out should be fairly minor compared to what it would have been like a few years ago when this would rarely be a topic covered by the mainstream media. The groundwork is certainly being laid for somebody to come out soon.
Just today I was pleasantly surprised when I went to check emails on hotmail and this was the LEAD STORY on the MSN Canada home page. ‘Out of the Closet, Into the Locker-room’
http://sports.ca.msn.com/other/photos/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=25032725
It is a slide show of gay athletes and the covering story ends with this:
“this week, a survey in England found a whopping 93 percent of people would support a gay soccer player. Maybe, in this memorable World Cup year, the beautiful game can make headlines for having a star athlete join the ranks of these other gay players past and present.”
In addition to pictures of out athletes like Gareth Thomas, John Ameachi, Mark Tewksbury etc – the story even includes a link for Gay Games results!
on Aug 8th, 2010 at 1:28 PM
I wish the financial support was there for all gay sports figures…
on Aug 8th, 2010 at 4:15 PM
Another example this weekend of being out not hurting somebody as the Canadian Olympic Association named Mark Tewksbury as Canada’s Chef de Mission for the London Olympics. Basically that means he is the head honcho for Canada’s Olympic team.
This favourable viewpoint on his appointment from the Toronto Stars Olympics reporter. http://thestar.blogs.com/olympics/
And this excerpt says it all…
“It’s also a story of inclusion, of how an athlete who feared ostracism when he revealed he was gay has been handed one of the Canadian Olympic team’s most prominent positions – and his sexuality isn’t even an issue.”