I’m an Olympic champion and gay.. it would be illegal to exist in 35 Commonwealth states, it’s ridiculous says Tom Daley
OLYMPIC champion Tom Daley has called for the Commonwealth Games to ban any country with anti-LGBT laws from hosting the competition.
The 28-year-old diver, who won gold at the Tokyo Games last summer, publicly came out as gay a number of years ago.
He is married to Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and their son was born in 2018.
He is currently using his profile to promote the need for sport to stand up against homophobic discrimination as he stars in the upcoming BBC documentary Tom Daley: Illegal to Be Me.
And in a sneak preview of the programme, he slams how ridiculous it is that sporting events are still being hosted in countries which outlaw being gay.
Speaking on the , he said: “I would be illegal to exist in 35 of the 56 states of the Commonwealth. I mean, it’s just outrageous.
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“These days most international sporting bodies claim that they’re inclusive of LGBT people.
“But just this year the football World Cup and Formula 1 are both being hosted in countries which have the death penalty for being gay [Qatar and Saudi Arabia].
“As a former medal winner, the Commonwealth Games is close to my heart and I want to convince it to become the first sporting event to really take a stand.
“I’ve been told that sport and politics shouldn’t collide. But at the same time you have to acknowledge what is going on around you.
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“My wish right now is to get the Commonwealth Games to say that they will not allow any country that has anti-LGBT laws to be able to host the Commonwealth Games.
“I know that is a bold wish, but it has to start somewhere to create some change.”
In the programme, Daley will visit the most homophobic countries in the Commonwealth to explore how gay athletes are facing extreme persecution.
