Olympic athletes are use to having their lives constantly watched. Between the live coverage of events and interviews and all the media expected from a world-wide competition, the athletes are nearly always under surveillance. It would seem only right, then, to afford Olympic athletes the basic dignity of privacy in their life off the track, field, pool or wherever they compete. Unfortunately, such privacy is not always respected.
Last week, Nico Hines, London editor of the Daily Beast, was reporting from Rio when he chose to do an article covering both the hetero- and homosexual nightlife among the Olympic athletes. Hines created a profile on Grindr to match with users in the Olympic Village, proceeding to catfish numerous Olympic athletes. In the resulting article (which was pulled from The Daily Beast amid both public backlash and condemnation from the IOC), Hines proceeded to discuss his experience on Grindr, going as far as to give the height, country of origin, and other information about the athletes he matched with.
This is unacceptable.
This is not journalism.
First, an athlete's personal, private life should not be considered "news." The world has no right to know someone's sexuality -or any aspect of their life- merely because they are famous. Celebrities still need to be afforded the basic dignity and privacy of every human being, but the issue goes much deeper than that.
In 74 countries around the world, homosexuality is explicitly illegal, in countless other countries, members of the LGBTQA+ community are looked down upon and even hated within their own communities. Some of the Olympic athletes Hines catfished - and possibly outed- on Grindr are from these countries. These athletes kept their sexuality secret for a reason - their safety - and Hines has risked that for the sake of what he considered would be a good scoop.
Furthermore, the LGBTQA+ community does not exist for the sake of those outside the community. Hines is a straight, married white male, who does not need to fear public backlash for his life choices (well, except this one). He had no right to sneak his way into a community unethically and without integrity. The experiences of those within the LGBTQA+ community do not need to be validated by those without who seek only to exploit them for their own benefit.
This is a moral dilemma, yet not a moral dilemma in your views about homosexuality. Whether or not you agree with the athletes' lifestyle choices is irrelevant. What is always relevant, however, is treating everyone with respect and honoring people's personal choices.
