'The decorated career of Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner has been marked by an unabashed willingness to speak her mind on a variety of topics with a confidence and boldness,' writes cbrennansports for usatodaysports.
Christine BrennanThe decorated career of Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner has been marked by an unabashed willingness to speak her mind on a variety of topics with a confidence and boldness that stands out among her peers.
Wagner is 28 now, no longer competing but still a top skating show performer while commentating on her sport on TV and speaking at skating seminars.But nearly six years ago, at 22, Wagner joined her fellow Olympic figure skating hopefuls on stage at a media summit months before the 2014 Sochi Games when a question was asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s controversial anti-gay propaganda law.
A bit later, she continued the conversation with USA TODAY Sports: “I think growing up in skating, I was surrounded by the LGBT community, so I grew up very aware because I was around it so often, and some of the kindest people I know are gay figure skaters. At the end of the day I'm an athlete, and that's what I'm focused on. But I felt that too many people are quiet and they're not comfortable sharing their opinion, and it's just my opinion.
She said then that she was even more emboldened about speaking out after hearing the news that then-President Obama was sending three openly-gay athletes in the official U.S. delegation to the opening and closing ceremonies: tennis legend Billie Jean King, Olympic figure skating gold medalist Brian Boitano and two-time Olympic hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow.
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