Story highlights
- Gay athletes Billie Jean King and Caitlin Cahow in U.S. delegation to Sochi Winter Olympics
- U.S. will not be sending any high-ranking officials, which is seen as a snub to Russia
- King will attend the opening ceremony on February 7
- Cahow will be in the party appearing at the closing ceremony
The United States' delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia won't include a member of President Barack Obama's family or an active Cabinet secretary, but it will include openly gay athletes - a clear jab at Russia's recent anti-gay laws.
Billie Jean King, the tennis legend, will join figure skater Brian Boitano at the games' opening ceremonies on February 7, the White House said Tuesday.
Former Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, White House aide Rob Nabors and the U.S. ambassador to Russia will round out the delegation to the Sochi games.
King was one of the first professional athletes to come out as gay in the 1980s.
Two weeks later, a group led by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will attend the closing ceremony. Speed skaters Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden, as well as openly gay hockey player Caitlin Cahow, will also attend.
Photos: Openly gay athletes
Photos: Openly gay athletes
David Denson, a first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers' rookie affiliate in Helena, Montana, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in August 2015 that he is gay. The news makes him the first active player affiliated with a Major League organization to come out publicly. Click through to see other openly gay athletes.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
American soccer legend Abby Wambach's sexuality was an open secret for years before she married fellow soccer player Sarah Huffman in 2013.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
Swimmer Ian Thorpe, seen here in 2004 with one of his five Olympic gold medals, told an Australian news outlet that he is gay in an interview that aired on Sunday, July 13.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
Former Missouri defensive end Michael Sam told ESPN and The New York Times that he is gay on February 9. Sam later became the first openly gay player to be drafted by a NFL team when he was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a professional American sporting match when he took the field for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy during a match against the Seattle Sounders on May 26.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," NBA player Jason Collins said in a Sports Illustrated article.
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Sheryl Swoopes, a retired WNBA star and coach of the Loyola University Chicago's women's basketball team, came out in 2005.
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Photos: Openly gay athletes
Brittney Griner, selected No. 1 in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury, is openly gay.
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In an exclusive interview with CNN, former San Francisco 49ers player Kwame Harris came out as gay after rumors circulated in the media.
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Rugby player Gareth Thomas of Wales spoke about being gay to a British news channel in 2009.
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Justin Fashanu became the first openly gay soccer player in Europe when he came out in 1990. Eight years later, he took his own life.
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Tennis great Martina Navratilova came out in 1981.
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After his retirement in 2007, basketball player John Amaechi announced he was gay.
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After retiring from professional football in 1972, David Kopay acknowledged to the Washington Star that he was gay.
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Villanova University's Will Sheridan came out to his teammates in 2003.
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In 2012, U.S. women's soccer player Megan Rapinoe confirmed in Out magazine that she was a lesbian.
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Champion figure skater Johnny Weir confirmed in his 2011 memoir, "Welcome to My World," that he was gay.
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Australia's Matthew Mitcham came out in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2008.
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In 2012, Orlando Cruz became the first active professional fighter to publicly announce that he was gay.
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Openly gay British dressage rider Carl Hester helped his team win gold at the 2012 Olympics.
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English cricketer Steven Davies announced he was gay in 2011.
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Germany's Judith Arndt won the silver medal in cycling at the 2012 Olympics.
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Billy Bean, a former Major League Baseball player, discussed being gay in a 1999 New York Times article.
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Tennis legend Billie Jean King was outed by a former female partner in 1981.
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In 2002, professional football player Esera Tuaolo came out on HBO's "Real Sports."
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French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo came out in 1999.
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Greg Louganis, who won four Olympic golds for the United States during his diving career, has been openly gay since 1995.
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White House skipping Sochi Olympics 02:23
Billie Jean King on "my calling" 00:55
King still fights for tennis equality 05:49
Gay Olympian: We've come a long way 02:20
Cahow, 28, is a two-time Olympian.
"In the selection of this delegation, we are sending the message that the United States is a diverse place," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday, pointing to Napolitano, a former Cabinet secretary, as evidence of the delegation's distinction.
It's the first time in more than a decade the President, vice president, first lady or former president hasn't attended an Olympic opening or closing ceremony. First lady Michelle Obama led the delegation to 2012's Summer Olympics in London, and President George W. Bush made the trek to China for Beijing's games in 2008.
Vice President Joe Biden and his wife led a U.S. group to the last Winter Games, held in Vancouver.
The absence of high-ranking U.S. officials amounts to a snub to Russia, whose relationship with the United States has fractured over the past year. Admitted NSA leaker Edward Snowden, wanted on espionage charges in the United States, was granted temporary asylum in Moscow, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has used Russia's veto on the United Nations Security Council to block action in Syria.
Obama canceled a meeting with Putin that was scheduled for September, though the two met as part of a larger group of world leaders at the Group of 20 conference in St. Petersburg.
Fueling the rift between the nations are new laws in Russia banning gay "propaganda" -- a law critics say is so vague that anyone can be prosecuted for wearing a rainbow T-shirt or holding hands in public with someone of the same sex.
Carney noted on Wednesday the selection of gay athletes wasn't the first time Obama has voiced concern over the Russian policy.
"That's not a message we would wait to send through this manner," Carney said. "We have been very clear -- the President has been very clear that he finds it offensive, the anti-LGBT legislation in Russia."
Obama told Jay Leno in August he had "no patience for countries that try to treat gays or lesbians or transgender persons in ways that intimidate them or are harmful to them," and during his visit to Russia earlier this year, Obama met with the leaders of Russian social activist groups.
