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San Francisco Chronicle
October 3, 2002— After years
of ill will between the U.S. Olympic movement
and the Gay Games athletic competition,
organizers of the gay event and boosters
of bringing the Olympics to the Bay Area
in 2012 said Wednesday that they had joined
forces to help each other's causes.
The goodwill gesture is in part an attempt
by the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee
to shore up support for its 2012 bid with
a constituency still seething over the Gay
Games' losing battle to be called the Gay
Olympics.
The Federation of Gay Games, meanwhile,
is trying to raise money for its event in
Australia in November, and for future Gay
Games.
"We hope by working with Bay Area leaders
of the federation that we will be an example
for other cities on how to be inclusive
and collaborative in bringing the community
together to achieve our goals," said
Anne Cribbs, CEO of the Bay Area Sports
Organizing Committee.
The Bay Area committee is trying to win
the U.S. Olympic Committee's endorsement
as U.S. candidate city for the 2012 Summer
Games. In 1987, the USOC sued Gay Games
founder and former Olympian Tom Waddell
and the federation over their use of the
word Olympics, citing property infringement.
The USOC slapped a lien on Waddell's home,
even as he fought a losing battle against
AIDS. Waddell died after the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in favor of the Olympic movement.
Gay activists upset over Waddell's treatment
lobbied then-San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos
against bidding for the 1996 Olympics, and
the city eventually dropped out of the running.
Wednesday, standing on a balcony of the
San Francisco Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgender Community Center, representatives
from the Gay Games and the Bay Area Olympic
bid effort shook hands, exchanged hugs and
heralded a new era of cooperation.
"We want to make sure the dark chapter
of the past is closed," Cribbs said.
"We're not always proud of our past.
This isn't an attempt to excuse the mistreatment
of Tom Waddell. It's a step in the right
direction. We have much work to do to overcome
homophobia in sports."
The Gay Games federation and the Bay Area
committee share a significant date: Nov.
2. That's the day of the Gay Games' opening
ceremonies in Sydney, and the day the Bay
Area finds out whether it or New York will
be the U.S. candidate for the 2012 Games.
"I'm so proud to be here today, and
I know Tom would support this," said
Waddell's widow, Sarah Waddell Lewinstein.
"There's nothing more that Tom wanted
than inclusiveness, and that's what this
is about.
"Of course it's PR," she added.
"It's PR on how to bury the hatchet.
It means educating people about change."
Mike Moran, spokesman for the USOC, said
the support of the federation and the Bay
Area's gay community could only help the
local effort when it goes before the 123-member
Olympic committee in Colorado Springs, Colo.,
next month.
"We look to that support from diverse
segments of the community," he said.
"The differences are way in the past."
Tom Ammiano, president of the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors, called the alliance
an acknowledgment of gay clout.
"It's obviously a sign of progress,"
he said. "I say hurrah for everyone's
side."
The Gay Games federation and the Bay Area
Olympic committee said they had started
a joint fund-raising campaign and would
split the proceeds, 50-50.
"We're hoping to do some healing for
the Olympic movement and recognize the contribution
San Francisco has made to the movement,"
said Gene Dermody, individual director of
the Gay Games federation. "It's a difficult
bid, and we want to make sure the region's
gay and lesbian community are part of the
leadership."
E-mail Christopher Heredia at
cheredia@sfchronicle.com.
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