by Julia Schwed ‘21, Staff Writer

Ask Adam Rippon what it’s like to be a gay athlete and he will tell you: “It’s exactly like being a straight athlete. Lots of hard work but usually done with better eyebrows.” Rippon is an American figure skater who was part of the 2018 U.S. Winter Olympic team. While the U.S. figure skating team may not have had the success it hoped to have at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Rippon stood out among all Olympians. He not only helped the U.S. win the bronze medal in the team event, but he also showed courage and conviction on and off the ice by standing up to Vice President Mike Pence.    

In a January 2018 interview, Rippon was asked his opinion on Vice President Pence leading the United States Olympic delegation in South Korea. Rippon, who is the first openly gay Winter Olympic athlete, replied, “You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy? I’m not buying it.” Rippon was referring to Pence’s 2000 congressional campaign website in which he said, “Resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior.” Many gay rights activists and members of the LGBTQ community believe Pence was supporting gay conversion therapy in that statement.  

Because of Pence’s views on gay rights, Rippon did not support the choice to have Pence lead the U.S. Olympic delegation and stated that he was not interested in participating in the traditional meeting between the official delegation and the athletes prior to the opening ceremony. Rippon said, “I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick… I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that.” Rippon acknowledged that he has been lucky, because Pence’s views on homosexuality have “had little effect” on his life. However, he added, “I didn’t speak up for myself, I spoke up because it is important to give a voice to those who feel they don’t have one.” It took great courage for Rippon to challenge the Vice President in public, especially since he did so before his competition. It brought more attention to him and would have opened him up to a lot of criticism if he had not performed well. Cynthia Huang ‘18, a member of GSA, agreed: “I think Rippon handled the request very respectfully in delaying their meeting.” She added that Rippon’s “graciousness is pretty on par for the things he said, namely the ‘I’m very lucky’ part which shows that he is acutely aware of his own prominence.”

After Rippon expressed his views, Pence sought to meet individually with Rippon and had his office call to make the arrangements. Rippon declined the invitation to meet. When asked why he had refused to meet with Pence, Rippon stated that the issue had been getting a lot of attention and his teammates had been questioned about it and he did not think the distraction was fair to his teammates. Rippon also said he did not want his Olympic experience to be about Mike Pence, but rather about his figure skating. Pence’s office denied a meeting had ever been sought; however, Rippon’s agent confirmed that his office had received the request and a USA Today reporter confirmed that she had verified the request through two sources. Caroline Tarnow ‘21 was not surprised by Pence’s action: “The Trump administration has always been about publicity, not the well-being of people.” Now that the Olympics are over, Rippon has said that he would “totally” accept a call from Pence.

I respect Rippon for having the courage to decline a meeting with the Vice President of the United States. By not meeting with Pence, Rippon stayed true to his values and refused to participate in a photo-op with someone who thinks being gay is wrong and unnatural. In the ordinary course of his political life, Pence has little interest in the LGBTQ community and does not support them in any way. Just because an Olympic athlete happens to be openly gay does not mean Pence can pretend to be supportive and take advantage of Rippon’s Olympic fame. As Cynthia puts it, “Olympic outness matters. Just having [Rippon] on screen is revolutionary, even if it seems there are not many ‘firsts’ left for the LGBTQ community at the Olympics, because it can force political confrontation.” Rippon’s actions show that he is comfortable and secure with his identity and will not acquiesce to homophobic authority figures.