IOC President Suggests Adding LGBT Rule to Olympic Discrimination Policy

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has recommended adding sexual orientation as a protected class onto the Olympic discrimination policy. The recommendation comes after months of fire from critics of Russia’s anti-LGBT laws when they held the 2014 Winter Olympics, and the lack of response from the IOC.

Bach’s proposal will be voted on in Monaco on December 8. The current anti-discrimination rule, otherwise known as Principal 6 of the Olympic charter, is stated as follows, “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”