Putin Wins Gold At The Olympics

Billie-Jean King was unable to travel out with the delegation at the start of the Olympics following the death of her mother.

Having now arrived for Sunday's closing ceremony, she hopes more athletes will follow her lead on campaigning and make their feelings known, especially as no athlete has chosen to speak out on about gay rights issues.

"You do have to concentrate [on performing] and that's the challenge for an athlete when you come to the Winter Olympics or any competition. Your first task at hand is to try to win and focus.
"I must say I was not like that as a player. I knew that tennis hopefully would be my platform to fight for equal rights and opportunities for boys and girls, men and women.
"I was about 12 when I decided that's going to be my journey. That off the court was just as important as on the court."
IOC regulations prohibit athletes from making or signalling any political statements or slogans but competitors have been told that they can speak freely in news conferences if asked a question.
"Hopefully out of all of these athletes we will have some leaders," King said.
"Maybe it will change some of the young ones. Maybe it will touch their heart and minds in a way that they'll say 'I'm looking at life a little differently now that I've been in a Winter Olympics. I'm going to go and be a leader and change things'."
Ultimately, her hope is that change on gay rights and equal opportunities can be achieved in Russia and that the Olympics will act as a catalyst.
"I'd like the LGBT community to have equal rights and opportunities like every other citizen and not to be able to be discriminated against without some recourse," she said.

"It's getting rough; if people hate us they can get away with things. I don't want people to get away with anything to do with hate with anybody."

Today, I read Billie's message to her fellow Olympians and though I feel she truly believes and supports the gay community, I also feel her words are wasted on a bunch of self serving cowards.
As she stated, they, at anytime, could have spoken out without fear of reprisal during the numerous interviews given and these *pillars* of excellence chose silence.
I chose the header for this article based on a quote from Billie, made years ago and one I use too believe in. 
Sadly, today's Olympians have shattered that illusion, they have demonstrated a total lack of character, have been completely self serving, self glorifying and completely insensitive automatons devoid of anything that resembles virtue or honor.
It matters squat at this point, if they now make comments as they leave or as they return home.
Their silence is a deafening roar of their true contempt for the plight of those who have looked up to them for leadership and for some glimmer of hope and recognition.
They are, in reality, despicable, reprehensible and completely unworthy of being called Olympians.