Tennis great Martina Navratilova applauds back to the crowd during the opening ceremony at the U.S. Open in New York, Aug.30, 2010. Ex-NBA player Jason Collins and Navratilova urged the International Olympic Committee to do more to support gay athletes at a special event for International Human Rights Day.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Charles Krupa
December 10, 2013 - 10:02 AM
Ex-NBA player Jason Collins and tennis great Martina Navratilova urged the International Olympic Committee to do more to support gay athletes at a special event for International Human Rights Day.
The two openly gay athletes appeared at the United Nations on Tuesday, along with human rights activists.
This year's events and comments are largely focused on the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where a law passed this summer banning homosexual "propaganda" has drawn international condemnation.
In a related event, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power called the Russian law "as outrageous as it is dangerous."
She was meeting with dozens of LGBT activists from around the world.
Power says 78 countries still have laws that criminalize consensual sex between adults.
News from © The Associated Press, 2013