30 responses so far ↓

• 1 Scott T. // Aug 27, 2008 at 5:10 pm

  It’s a good start as you say. It would be nice to do a story on him now but I don’t know how the mechanics of that would work.
   
   
  I mean there isn’t any real Olympic type stuff going on right now.

• 2 Tom Nunnery // Aug 27, 2008 at 5:16 pm

  I would like the e-mail address to let NBC how I feel about the Mm 10 m snub. Will you provide this for me?

• 3 James // Aug 27, 2008 at 8:39 pm

  I’m trying to remember all of the the backstory we got from NBC on Michael Phelps. We met his mother and sister, and learned of the strained relationship with his father. Never once was his orientation or romantic life mentioned, and he got more air time than any other athlete at the games. Should straight people be yelling heterophobic because they didn’t dig into that with him? In the 10m platform, we learned nothing of the two American divers’ romances, or if Tom Daly, the 14-year-old from UK had started dating yet. Should we wonder if they’re all gay too then? This whole topic is ridiculous. We as gays constantly fight for equality, and then when one of us doesn’t get singled out in ‘recognition’ our orientation, some press-hungry ‘media outlet’ has to become a raginq queen and point fingers. Whether the ommission was intentional or not (i’m leaning towards the latter), we have to get it through our heads that the pinnacle of acceptance and equality means that it SHOULDN’T MATTER. 

• 4 KBO // Aug 27, 2008 at 9:27 pm

  James, that’s the point.  They showed Michael Phelps’ family.  Over, and over, and over.  They deliberately refrained from showing MM’s family because his partner was in the stands.  There need be no pride parade, only a tasteful mention of his family, INCLUDING his partner.  No one wants to know if he’s a top or bottom. Phelps didn’t have a girlfriend or wife there, so why would they comment on his sexual orientation?. And, several athletes romantic lives were mentioned, even highlighted in human interest pieces–the French/Italian swimmers come to mind.  MM’s story is WAY more compelling than that.

• 5 Hako // Aug 27, 2008 at 9:58 pm

  Invisibility does not signify acceptance and equality.  We will know equality when we see it, because we know how the lives of straight athletes are presented in the media….hardly any detail is left unexplored.   Certainly the family story is the usual starting point.   That didn’t happen in Matthew’s case, and no, I don’t believe it was an innocent oversight.

• 6 WW // Aug 27, 2008 at 10:37 pm

  As it’s been mentioned here and at AfterElton.com, NBC did mention the wives, girlfriends, etc., of other athletes. Also, during the Olympics, swimmer Amanda Beard was asked if she was dating Michael Phelps, and she said, ”Ewww. He’s not my type.” Mitcham’s story is historic: He beat the Chinese divers in their own country; he prevented them from a sweep of the diving medals; he scored the highest score EVER for an Olympic dive. All of that alone would make him a perfect candidate for NBC coverage. Plus … he’s the first guy to compete as an openly gay man and win a gold medal. If NBC can do stories about the support that straight athletes have gotten from their family and loved ones, Mitcham and his mom and his boyfriend deserve no less. NBC blew the chance to tell a compelling human interest story, and that’s why they’re finally apologizing. Gay people have been stereotyped as being horrible at sports and not macho; well, Mitcham breaks the mold. The world is soooo far from the ”pinnacle of acceptance and equality”; here in the U.S., there are many who won’t let us marry or adopt, and then there are countries where you can get killed for simply being gay. Until those days are gone, we need to champion every gay hero, like Mitcham, because they don’t come along everyday.

• 7 Mark // Aug 28, 2008 at 2:07 am

  NBC….A Little To Late…
  Good Luck With 30 Rock….

• 8 Lee // Aug 28, 2008 at 8:27 am

  Please visit http://boards.nbc.com/nbc/index.php?showtopic=801520 .  The URL links to a thread at NBC’s forum which I created to address the lousy way the network handled the whole Matthew Mitcham thing.  If you care then voice your support, thx.  Maybe the network will take notice.

• 9 John // Aug 28, 2008 at 9:00 am

  Agree with James. It should not matter. Being “in your face” just does work in my opinion. Maybe it is the accountant in me, but we can not fractionalize our society to the Nth degree, and maybe it is exhausting to boot to even try.

• 10 David // Aug 28, 2008 at 11:51 am

  Well it’s better not to mention that he is gay. First and foremost he is an athlete competing and he happens to be gay. What Mr. Phelps did was amazing so telling his story is warranted. Still, do we need to walk that fine line with hispanics or african americans….i mean really guys, get over the gay thing. Just be proud that a young man accomplished his goal and let it be. Let Logo and Here TV and this site talk about the gay stuff…directed at a gay audience…if they so choose to.

• 11 David // Aug 28, 2008 at 11:53 am

  Oh yeah and those ads right in the middle of the page are quite annoying!

• 12 Doug // Aug 28, 2008 at 12:04 pm

  Is it more important to emphasize that Matthew was the only openly gay male athlete at the Beijing Olympics, or is equal treatment the issue? To me, the issue is equal treatment: If they show the mother and sisters of Michael Phelps (over and over and over again), then Matthew’s family (his mother Vivienne and his partner Lachlan) should be shown and recognized. Whether they tell the whole backstory or not is something else — which no one has told in very great detail — it’s possibly an interesting story, but I’d prefer that NBC treat an openly gay champion with a measure of equality.

• 13 Tom // Aug 28, 2008 at 12:50 pm

  I think we are overreacting just a bit here. Mike Phelps is an American athelete is was favored to win 8 gold medals. Matthew was not an American competing in a sport where no American competitors were expected to medal. I can’t see NBC spending a lot of time researching the life of a little known Aussie man who wasn’t favored for gold. It is nice that NBCi s now acknowleging their oversight.

• 14 WW // Aug 28, 2008 at 3:25 pm

  NBC didn’t need to ‘’spend a lot of time researching.” The fact that Mitcham was an openly gay athlete was on NBC’s Web site. Besides, isn’t it the job of NBC to know the background of the leading athletes? This was Mitcham’s SECOND gold medal for diving this year. He won in the Diving Grand Prix, held in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beating a number of the same divers he beat at the Olympics. I, too, would love to live in a world where being gay is ”no big deal,” but as long as we’re still being discriminated against and not given equal rights in this society (even tho’ we pay the same taxes), being gay IS ”a big deal.” The fact that Mitcham is the first guy to compete as an openly gay athlete and win gold, is as significant as, say, Barack Obama being the first African-American to win the Democratic nomination. NBC, for instance, kept mentioning in its broadcast that Sammy Wanjiru was the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon. Why? Because Kenya is known for its distance runners, so this was historic. When something happens for the first time, and it’s out of the ordinary, it’s historic. So acknowledging Mitcham’s victory is not ”overreacting” at all. In the context of Olympic history, and gay history, it’s something worth recognizing by all of us.

• 15 Todd // Aug 28, 2008 at 5:09 pm

  Did the Aussies report that their openly gay olympian won and, show his family including partner?  That’s who should have showed the story.  NOT NBC.  NBC does not owe anyone an apology.  NBC showed Michael Phelps, his story and his family because he’s an American…and he’s of interest to us Americans.  I never heard of this gay Aussie until now.  This is truely a pathetic story. 

• 16 alasdair // Aug 28, 2008 at 6:18 pm

  Todd, you don’t make a lot of sense, except to show what narrow-mindedness is all about.
  I’m an American - in fact I have ancestors who fought under George Washington - but I’m also a Hungarian, and a gay man, and I am interested in a lot of stories at the Olympics other than just US stars and beach volleyball. Frankly I found NBC’s coverage provincial and tedious. It’s about time we put an end to broadcasting monopolies on these events, now that we have so many media options. If Mitchan had placed 5th or something, and made little news, I would not have expected to hear his life story. But when you overturn a diving gold medal dynasty, then you become news.

• 17 Scott T. // Aug 28, 2008 at 8:07 pm

  Tom your just plain wrong. As has been mentioned many times. NBC did comment on Micheal Phelps sexuality when they asked him over and over again if he had a girlfriend and when he said no or that he wanted to keep that private. Well then what did they do. They made up a girlfriend for him.
  All NBC had to do was mention that Matthew was at the Olympics with his boyfriend just like they did  with all of the straight athletes. They didn’t even have to mention the word gay since it’s such problem for so many people.

• 18 Brett // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:00 pm

  Hi - just thought I would answer Todd’s [very relevant] question, about the reporting of Matthew’s win in the media here - his sexuality was not avoided at all [we saw the video of hugging Lachlan over and over], but what was most pleasing was the ‘matter-of-fact’ manner with which it was treated - we all know now who Lachlan is. It gave me great hope for the future.

• 19 Brett // Aug 28, 2008 at 10:02 pm

  Oh - by the way - I’m from Melbourne, Australia.Cheers.

• 20 WW // Aug 28, 2008 at 11:13 pm

  I agree with Alasdair that NBC’s coverage was pretty provincial, focusing mostly on Americans, but they DID cover some non-Americans. Usain Bolt and Zhou Luxin, the Chinese diver, come to mind. Plus, the China Daily thought Mitcham’s victory was such an achievement that they put him on the paper’s front page, alongside Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. And some Chinese publications even mentioned Mitcham is gay. If you don’t think that the one and only openly gay male athlete at the Olympics beating the seemingly invincible Chinese with a record high-scoring dive in the host’s country is news, then you have no sense of history or sports.

• 21 David // Aug 29, 2008 at 11:38 am

  WW. You make a strong statment but are you an editor or decision maker for a network or publication? Until you are i suggest you don’t comment on whether something is newsworthy or not.  I have to disagree with the fact the NBC owes an aoplogy. WW…start a blog if you want people to know about things not covered by mainstream media

• 22 gorelick // Aug 29, 2008 at 12:58 pm

  David, I don’t think you could possibly mean what you said in that last comment. Are you really saying that we can’t /shouldn’t comment on the content of the media?

• 23 Jack Thompson, Attorney // Aug 29, 2008 at 4:22 pm

  This was not the Gay Olympics.  It was the Olympics.  Nobody in his or her right mind cares whether he is gay or not and who his love interest is.  You gays need to get over your obsession with sex.  Life is more than that, and straights are not the ones obsessed with your sexuality.  You gays are.  Grow up.

• 24 tyler // Aug 29, 2008 at 8:38 pm

  NBC doesn’t owe anyone an apology.  Mitcham himself said his sexuality and his diving are separate.  Why should NBC have made sure they pointed out this one aspect of his personal life?  For that matter, I think some (gay) people could have been offended if the network had gone out of its way to point out his sexuality (by the way, I am gay, so I’m not an ‘outsider’ about all of this).I think it was gracious of NBC to even offer an apology.  So, let’s celebrate Mitcham’s wonderful accomplishment, and we should rightfully be proud of it.  But let’s pick our battles and ask whether this is truly something we should be upset about.

• 25 Chike // Aug 30, 2008 at 6:12 am

  NBC does not need to apologize to anybody. Families and impressionable children are Watching the olympics. Many people who watch the olympics do not pratice gay sex and do not wish to be a part of it. We do not need to hear about every dirty little fact about what is going on behind the scenes of some of these athletes lives. We know that some may be doing drugs on the side,  but it is not appropriate for children to hear details about that either. It is very inappropriate for children to be watching television and then all of a sudden have someones’s homosexual lifestyle be told to them. We would not allow such things to happen during cartoon showings why family sporting events? Let’s be responsible people. Let’s not decide to damage childhood experiences with such acts of selfishness.

• 26 Linus // Aug 30, 2008 at 7:09 pm

  My partner, who is a real sports fanatic, said in the UK they are so ahead of the USA. They did talk freely on TV about he and his partner. Oh and Chike you are one sick bigoted fool. 

• 27 stephen // Sep 4, 2008 at 4:45 am

  How about this radical idea?  Getting to know a person for who he or she is?  People who think homosexuality is wrong are much more likely to rethink their beliefs when they learn that someone they’ve known and respected for other reasons is gay.  Linus said in his comment above, “Oh and Chike you are one sick bigoted fool.”  For the record, a bigot is a person who is intolerant of beliefs, opinions, and lifestyles that are different from his/her own.  When words like “sick” or “fool” are used, they aren’t words you use to discuss a subject about which you disagree with another person.  They’re meant to shut the other person down, provoke an emotional reaction… and most importantly, they are words used when the person using them doesn’t have anything else to say… a person who faces challenges to their own point-of-view by attacking another person, not based on their argument, but attacking them personally.  A childish response, which really doesn’t say anything except that the person saying these things informs everyone around him that he’s not very bright. In other words, a bigot uses phrases like, “sick bigoted fool.”  (Linus, you may be a bigot and a fool for using those words to describe another person - instead of yourself – , but I wouldn’t use the word sick to describe you, because I don’t know your health status… I’m assuming you don’t know Chike’s either, yet you used that word.)Homosexuality is an emotionally charged subject, like abortion and race.  People aren’t likely to change their minds when they are emotional.  That’s human nature.  People who are angry, grieving, upset, or really anxious aren’t the clearest thinkers.  This applies to all of us, because we all get angry, upset, anxious, and grieve.  I mention this because I can’t help but draw a line between the people who attack different viewpoints - such as Linus above - and people who don’t like homosexuals because it’s such an emotionally charged issue they won’t take the time to think about it when they are calm and rational and realize that it’s stupid to judge - or discuss on television - a person’s sexuality when it isn’t relevant. 
  The points made in the above posts about how Phelp’s family were shown but not Mitcham’s, which includes his partner - you guys are focusing only on sexual orientation as the deciding factor for NBC.  I won’t even begin to list the other possible issues – because I can’t possibly know them all and neither can you – but if you think about it for only a few seconds, you should be able to come up with several other reasons why this is the case. 
  Imagine a manager in a company.  The manager is going to promote one of two employees.  A black employee - who is disagreeable with most of his co-workers - and a white employee - who is easy to get along with and well-respected among her co-workers.  The manager chooses the white employee.  Now, in this story, the black person says (NOTE: I’m not saying this happens often or even happened once… if you’re upset now, you yourself are close-minded, making a judgment before you know the facts) - the black person says that the manager is a racist.  Now imagine an outsider to the situation, who knows only that this manager had a choice between a white and black employee for a promotion, and chose the white employee.  The  two employees were equally productive in their jobs. 
  Based only on that information, others in the workplace – who work in different departments, and don’t know how disagreeable the black employee is - begin to fault the manager for being a racist, since the black employee isn’t likely to tell others that she’s a total bitch to work with, yet that’s a quality that’s needed for an effective manager. 
  No, he’s not a racist. Yes, he chose the white person over the black person, but it wasn’t because of the black person’s race. It’s because the black person is a bitch – not really management material. This employee just happens to be black as well. The same could be say about sex and other types of discrimination. Not having all the information can lead people to make some pretty backwards assumptions.  It’s when we hold onto these assumptions so dearly and don’t look for any new information that might challenge what conclusions we’ve already made, well, it’s where they themselves become the intolerant ones.  

• 28 Greg // Sep 5, 2008 at 9:25 pm

  Chike and millions of Americans just like him is why NBC didn’t show Mitcham’s partner.  It was completely intentional.  Stephen is one step up; he attempts to provide a rational basis to his intolerance.  Stephen, they showed all the other divers’ partners and not Mitcham’s.  They did it because he is gay.  It wasn’t a job interview.

• 29 John // Sep 11, 2008 at 4:24 pm

  Bisexual Species:Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom
  By Emily V. Driscoll
  Homosexual behavior is common in nature, and it plays an important role in survival -
  http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bisexual-species&SID=mail&sc=emailfriend
  © 1996-2008 Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

• 30 David // Sep 19, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  They didn’t have to mention he was gay. While watching the men’s diving, I remembered that there was a gay diver but couldn’t remember which country he was from. After seeing each of Matthew’s dives, I could clearly see he was gay.

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