News
Louganis: gay MSNBC anchor should not have hosted Russia pageant
Retired Olympian says Thomas Roberts a ‘feather in Putin’s cap’
Retired Olympian Greg Louganis on Friday, Dec. 13, took part in a Russia briefing on Capitol Hill. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Retired Olympic diver Greg Louganis on Friday said he disagrees with gay MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts and singer Elton John’s decisions to host the Miss Universe 2013 pageant and perform in Russia because of the country’s LGBT rights record.
“I don’t agree with it,” Louganis told the Washington Blade during an interview after he took part in a Russia briefing on Capitol Hill organized by Human Rights First. “It just seems like all they’re doing is lending credibility to what’s going on there because they’re not going to be reporting on the crimes and the horrors that are happening there. You’re going to be a feather in [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s cap.”
Louganis, who learned he was living with HIV six months before he competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, came out as gay during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1995. He won two gold medals during the Seoul games and in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Louganis described Russia’s LGBT rights record that includes a law that bans gay propaganda to minors as “very, very disturbing” during the Capitol Hill briefing in which Anastasia Smirnova and Maria Kozlovskaya of the Russian LGBT Network, Elvina Yuvakaeva and Konstantin Iablotckii of the Russian LGBT Sport Federation and gay Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline also took part. The four-time Olympic gold medalist was unable to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because the U.S. boycotted them over the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan the previous year.
“When you’re talking about Olympic boycotts, they hurt the wrong people,” Louganis told the Blade, noting athletes often have a limited amount of time in which they can compete. “You have a window and if that window is taken away from you, you don’t have that opportunity. And I’ve lived that through two boycotts and they truly do hurt the wrong people.”
Iablotckii has invited Louganis to attend the Russian LGBT Sport Federation’s “open games” that are scheduled to take place in Moscow between Feb. 26 and March 2, but the retired Olympic diver said he does not currently have the financial means to travel to the Russian capital. He told the Blade he is not even sure the Russian government would grant him a visa that would allow him to legally enter the country.
“I’d love to be there,” said Louganis.
Louganis spoke with the Blade a week after John blasted Russia’s LGBT rights record during a concert in Moscow.
“You have always embraced me and you have never judged me,” said the gay British singer while on stage. “So I’m deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the LGBT community here in Russia.”
Louganis told the Blade he respects John, but questioned the effectiveness of his statement.
“It was skewed in such a way that it really did not help the cause,” said Louganis. “I think it was an attempt, but I don’t know how effective it was.”
Roberts last month co-hosted the Miss Universe pageant 2013 in Moscow with singer Mel B after Andy Cohen said he turned down the request, in part, because “he didn’t feel right as a gay man stepping foot into Russia” as he told E! News.
Masha Gessen, a lesbian Russian American journalist, appeared on the gay MSNBC anchor’s program before he traveled to Moscow. Roberts also interviewed Anton Krasovsky, the former editor-in-chief of a pro-Kremlin television station who said he lost his job in January after he came out during a segment on the gay propaganda law, once he arrived in Russia.
Roberts criticized the aforementioned statute and Russia’s LGBT rights record during a series of pre-pageant interviews with NBC, which co-owns the Miss Universe Organization with Donald Trump, and other media outlets. Neither Roberts nor participants in the Miss Universe 2013 pageant discussed Russia’s LGBT rights record during the broadcast of the event.
“All kids — Russian, American or otherwise — need hope,” wrote Roberts in an MSNBC column that announced his decision to co-host the pageant. “I am a happy, healthy, gainfully employed, educated and married man. And yes, I am gay. These new Russian laws won’t stop Russians from being born LGBT and growing up to identify as such. Russia’s treatment of its LGBT citizens is unacceptable, unrealistic and only promotes homophobia and intolerance for a community that does and will continue to exist.”
Roberts on Dec. 10 moderated a panel on LGBT issues in sports at the United Nations that featured Smirnova, gay former Washington Wizards center Jason Collins, retired tennis champion Martina Navratilova, U.N. Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, South African activist Thandeka “Tumi” Mkhuma and intersex advocate Huda Viloria. The event coincided with the 65th anniversary of the ratification of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
Roberts was unavailable for comment as of deadline.
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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