Polish Boxer Stands Up For LGBT Equality

'I am an ally of LGBT people, because I want to live in a country where my gay friends are not discriminated against,' declared Dariusz Michalczewski, a world-famous pugilist, in a photo to support a prominent gay rights group, Shoulder to Shoulder on Equality---LGBT and Friends in Poland.
Michalczewski, who is known as Tiger and has an energy drink named after his nickname, recently showed up to an LGBT rights event in Warsaw to support equality, according to a column published in the New York Times.
The retired professional boxer made headlines in the eastern European country, which is known to be a traditionally conservative and Catholic society that has long suppressed discussions of gay rights.
The 46-year-old married father of two was quoted as saying, ‘I just love people! I'm not a racist and do not judge people because of their sexual orientation. I'll give you an example. Two young men live near me. They are smiling, friendly, accommodating. We all like them. And then someone noticed that they kiss. Neighbors began to hate them... Did they change? No. They are still those same valuable people. You have to treat them differently because they are gay? This (kind of treatment) is sick! It prompted me to participate in this campaign.’
In 2003, the former world champion founded Equal Opportunity Foundation to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. He soon became an advocate for other social issues, including minority rights and gay rights.
In the translated article published in The New York Times wrote, Slawomir Sierakowski, a sociologist and the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Warsaw wrote, 'Michalczewski is both a surprising advocate for gay rights and the perfect choice for the role: He is white, heterosexual, Catholic, rich, professionally successful and widely popular, and thus more likely to persuade conservatives than a liberal intellectual or politician. A typical young man from an economically depressed town that doesn't have a single movie theater but has five churches might not get a chance to read a progressive manifesto. The opinions of a legendary boxer who grew up under similar circumstances, meanwhile, might prove thought-provoking.'
The Polish-German boxer also supports same-sex couples to enter into civil unions and their right to adopt children. He added, 'I am worried that two generations will have to die off and it will only be the third that will have a normal attitude toward gays and lesbians. I am very sorry for those who are at the barricades fighting for their rights,' he said, 'because they probably won’t succeed in their lifetimes. To me, their struggle is like the struggle against Communism.'