The Principle Six campaign, also Principle 6, or P6, was launched in January 2014 as an Olympic protests of Russian anti-gay laws in conjunction with the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

being held in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, Russia. Principle 6 refers to the sixth principle of the

Olympic Charter The Olympic Charter is a set of rules and guidelines for the organisation of the Olympic Games, and for governing the Olympic movement. Its last revision was on the 17th of July 2020 during the 136th IOC Session, held by video conference. Adop ...

that says any form of discrimination "is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell noted that openly gay and lesbian athletes are actively discriminated against in Russia as well as dozens of countries that criminalize same-sex relationships, or gay people generally on an institutional level.Comment: ‘The Sochi games will go down in history as the anti-gay Olympics’
/ref> "These are clear breaches of the anti-discrimination Principle Six of the Olympic Charter. Yet the International Olympic Committee has said and done nothing. It is allowing the Russian government to ban the Pride House and discriminate against

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, gay,

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

, and transgender ( LGBT) athletes and spectators." The Principle Six campaign was put together by All Out, a social media organizing advocacy group with 1.9 million members come from every country in the world, and Athlete Ally, an organization working to end

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and transphobia in sports by reaching out to athletic communities. American Apparel partnered with the two groups to produce and distribute Principle 6 gear online and in their stores globally

Background

Olympic protests of Russian anti-gay laws arose in the months leading up to the

, Russia. Scheduled to take place from 6 to 23 February 2014, the Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event that occurs once every four years. Up to that time that atmosphere in future and politics for

, gay,

, and transgender ( LGBT) people has been generally improving. In 2013 Russia received criticism from around the world and across the international community for enacting a law that bans the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors. Since the passage of the anti-gay propaganda law, the media has reported the arrest of a

gay rights activist A list of notable LGBT rights activists who have worked to advance LGBT rights by political change, legal action or publication. Ordered by country, alphabetically. Argentina * Claudia Castrosín Verdú, she and her partner were the first les ...

as well as a surging incidence of hate crimes motivated by

, including hate crimes perpetrated by neo-Nazi groups against gay minors. A law prohibiting gay pride parades in Moscow for one-hundred years has also recently been enacted. International pressure was leveraged to compel the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to move the Olympics to another country, as well as pressure on Olympic sponsors to take a stand for LGBT equality. In tandem, calls to boycott and protest the Olympics before, during, and after the games, also went out, with various organizations and groups organizing efforts. In addition several politicians, including U.S. President Barack Obama, and members of his administration, and other world leaders have publicly stated they would not attend, and these actions have been tied to the protest efforts. In the U.S., the Olympic delegation is made up of several LGBT Olympians, and athletes including Brian Boitano, and

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

. In response to protest and boycott efforts, corporations and the IOC have made steps to guarantee the safety of their employees, athletes, and staff, who are in Russia in advance or during the Olympics.

On-site ambassadors in Sochi, Russia

Athletes expected to attend and compete at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games * Australian snowboarder Belle Brockhoff * Australian bobsled team captain

Heath Spence Heath Spence (born 15 April 1980) is an Australian bobsledder. He was born in Melbourne. He competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The ...

Aussie athletes urge Russia reconsider anti-gay laws
/ref> * Canadian alpine skier Mike Janyk * Canadian snowboarder

Alex Duckworth Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

Olympic athlete co-signers

* four-time Olympic gold medal diver Greg Louganis * four-time Olympic luger and International Sports Law expert

Cameron Myler Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 197 ...

* two-time Olympic middle-distance runner

Nick Symmonds Nicholas Boone Symmonds (born December 30, 1983) is an American YouTube personality and retired middle-distance track athlete, from Boise, Idaho, who specialized in the 800 meters and 1500 meters distances. Symmonds signed with Brooks Running in ...

* Australian tennis player and four-time Olympian Rennae Stubbs * ParaPan Am gold medalist archer

Lee Ford In August 2000, Lee Ford, an unemployed builder and roofer, murdered his wife, Lesley, and his four stepchildren at their home in Carnkie, a village near Redruth, Cornwall, before attempting to conceal the bodies. After telling neighbours, and t ...

* figure skater Mark Janoschak * gold medalist and soccer player Megan RapinoeNick Symmonds, Megan Rapinoe Among 52 Olympians Protesting Putin’s Anti-Gay Laws
/ref> * gold medalist and soccer player

Lori Lindsey Lori Ann Lindsey (born March 19, 1980) is a retired American soccer midfielder who last played for Canberra United in the Australian W-League and was also a member of the United States women's national soccer team player pool. She played one ...

* soccer player Hedvig Lindahl * soccer player

Sally Shipard Sally Jean Shipard (born 20 October 1987) is a retired Australian international football (soccer) midfielder who played for Canberra United in the Australian W-League from 2009 to 2014 and for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga du ...

* soccer player Robbie Rogers * soccer player Chris Seitz * two-time gold medalist rower

Caryn Davies Caryn Davies (born April 14, 1982, in Ithaca, New York) is an American rower. She won gold medals as the stroke seat in women's eight at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

* Irish Olympic runner Ciarán Ó Lionáird * former Soviet archer Khatuna Lorig * U.S. basketball star Teresa Edwards * U.S. swimmer Dan Veatch * U.S. Paralympian

Tanner Gers Tanner may refer to: * Tanner (occupation), the tanning of leather and hides People * Tanner (given name), * Tanner (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *The Tanner Sisters, also referred to as "The Harbingers of Weir ...

* Paralympic bronze medalist Lindsey Carmichael * wrestler Ben Provisor * Ice Hockey player Caitlin Cahow * tennis star

* tennis star Andy Roddick * tennis star Mardy Fish * Australian bobsledder Jana PittmanRussian roulette at Sochi Games as Vladimir Putin steps up hyperbole
/ref> * tennis star James Blake * rower

Esther Lofgren Esther Ruth Lofgren (born February 28, 1985, in Long Beach, California) is an American rower and an Olympic gold medalist. She won the gold medal in the women's eight at the 2012 Summer Games in London. Lofgren is a graduate of Harvard College, w ...

* Paralympic Australian basketball player

Sarah Stewart Sarah Stewart may refer to: * Sarah Stewart (author) (born 1939), American children's author *Sarah Stewart (basketball) (born 1976), Australian wheelchair basketball player * Sarah Stewart (cancer researcher) (1905–1976), US-Mexican viral oncolo ...

* Australian Olympic trampoline silver medalist

Ji Wallace Ji Wallace (born 23 June 1977 in Lismore, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian trampoline gymnast and Olympic silver medalist. Earlier in his career, Wallace won several Australian national titles and made an international breakthrough in 1 ...

* Swiss snowboarder

Simona Meiler Simona Meiler (born 13 September 1989 in Flims) is a Swiss snowboarder. She has represented Switzerland at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) ...

* American fencer Race Imboden * U.S. diver

David Pichler David Pichler (born September 3, 1968) is an American Olympic diver representing the United States in 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where Pichler was elected team captain. Pichler and Mark Ruiz won th ...

* U.S. snowboarder

Callan Chythlook-Sifsof Callan Chythlook-Sifsof (born February 14, 1989) is an American snowboarder who has competed in snowboard cross since 2005. In 2006, she was invited to her first Winter X Games competition and won a silver medal in 2011. She won the U.S. Nation ...

* U.S. snowboarder Seth WescottHere Are The 52 Olympians Pushing For Repeal Of Russia’s Anti-Gay Laws
/ref> * Canadian speed skater Anastasia Bucsis * German bronze medal fencer Joerg Fiedler * U.S. Paralympic tennis player Sharon Kelleher * U.S. speed skater and silver medalist Miriam Rothstein * German silver medal fencer Imke Duplitzer * U.S. beach volleyball player

Jen Kessey Jen is a feminineSebased on U.S. Social Security Records given name, frequently a shortened form ( hypocorism) of Jennifer, and occasionally a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Jen Adams (born 1979), Australian lacrosse coach and for ...

* Canadian biathlete

Rosanna Crawford Rosanna Crawford (born 23 May 1988) is a Canadian biathlete. Career Crawford competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in the women's sprint (7.5 km) and individual (15 km) competitions. She placed 72nd in the sprint on 13 Febr ...

Professional athlete co-signers

* NFL star

Chris Kluwe Christopher James Kluwe (; born December 24, 1981) is a former American football punter and writer. Kluwe played at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California, where he was a 1999 USA Today All-USA high school football team, 1999 ''USA ...

* NFL star Brendon Ayanbadejo * NFL star Scott Fujita * NFL star

Donté Stallworth Donté Lamar Stallworth (born November 10, 1980) is a former American football wide receiver who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee and was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in t ...

* Tennis star

* Tennis star Andy Roddick * Tennis star James Blake * Tennis star Mardy Fish * MLS player Stephen McCarthy * MLS player Robbie Rogers * NBA player

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

* NBA player Jason Collins * WNBA player Teresa Edwards * WNBA player

Kristi Toliver Kristi Renee Toliver (born January 27, 1987) is an American-Slovak professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and an NBA assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. During her ro ...

* Rugby player David Pocock * Race car driver Leilani Munter * Australian national soccer team player Michelle Heyman * Australian national soccer team player Lydia Williams * Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad

References

{{reflist 21st century in LGBT history Olympic Games controversies Sexual orientation and sports 2014 Winter Olympics LGBT rights in Russia 2010s in LGBT history 2014 in LGBT history