Gay Olympic skater slams Mike Pence selection to lead U.S. delegation

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon has slammed the White House’s selection of Vice President Mike Pence to lead the 2018 U.S. Olympic delegation.

Mr. Rippon, who is believed to be the first openly gay U.S. Winter Olympian, told USA Today during an interview Tuesday night that he “wouldn’t go out of [his] way” to meet with the vice president if given the opportunity before the 2018 Olympics kick off in PyeongChang, South Korea.

“If it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick,” Mr. Rippon said. “I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that.”

The Olympic skater was referring to a common belief in the LGBT community that Mr. Pence supported gay conversion therapy when he was a congressional candidate in Indiana, based on a vague statement he made in 2000 that “resources should be directed toward those institutions which provide assistance to those seeking to change their sexual behavior,” USA Today reported. Mr. Pence has since denied ever supporting gay conversion therapy.

Mr. Pence’s press secretary Alyssa Farah responded to Mr. Rippon’s comments Wednesday, saying the accusation that the vice president supported gay conversion therapy is “totally false.”

“The vice president is proud to lead the U.S. delegation to the Olympics and support America’s incredible athletes,” Ms. Farah said. “The accusation is totally false with no basis in fact. But despite these misinformed claims, the vice president will be enthusiastically supporting all the U.S. athletes competing next month in Pyeongchang.”Mr. Rippon also called Mr. Pence’s Christianity into question over his support of President Trump.

“I don’t think he has a real concept of reality,” he said. “To stand by some of the things that Donald Trump has said and for Mike Pence to say he’s a devout Christian man is completely contradictory. If he’s OK with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘sh—holes,’ I think he should really go to church.”

Mr. Rippon said he might consider meeting with Mr. Pence after his competition, saying the vice president seems to be more reasonable than Mr. Trump.

“If I had the chance to meet him afterwards, after I’m finished competing, there might be a possibility to have an open conversation,” he said. “He seems more mild-mannered than Donald Trump. … But I don’t think the current administration represents the values that I was taught growing up. Mike Pence doesn’t stand for anything that I really believe in.”

Mr. Rippon had previously stated that he would boycott the White House’s post-Olympic celebration hosted by President Trump.

“I said no,” he reiterated Tuesday.