Interview: Olympic medalist Eric Radford came out to "make a difference," encourage kids

Canadian figure skater Eric Radford publicly announced he's gay in an interview with Outsports Thursday, and he became part of a small group in the process. Very few figure skaters (or top-level athletes in most sports, for that matter) have come out while still actively competing, something Radford's very much still doing. He won an Olympic silver medal in the team event in Sochi this February, and he and skating partner Meagan Duhamel won the pairs in Japan last week to advance to the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona later this month. In an interview with Eh Game Thursday afternoon, he said his sights are firmly still on his skating.

"Immediately, my life will remain mostly the same," Radford said. "It doesn't feel like a big deal to me."

That doesn't mean this is an inconsequential announcement, though. It comes in the same week that the Canadian Olympic Committee announced a #OneTeam partnership with You Can Play and Egale to promote inclusivity of LGBTQ athletes at all levels, and it means that Radford has become a public face of that campaign. He said he welcomes that, and that he chose this week because of that initiative.

"It really was coinciding with the #OneTeam initiative," he said. "I kind of felt like, 'Why not?' There's a part of me that's always wanted to use my talent in more than one dimension."

He recognizes that he's not as well-known as NFL stars or other high-profile professional athletes, but that he's grateful for the platform he does have thanks to his remarkable skating, and hopes to use it to promote inclusion.

"I feel lucky," Radford said. "I have a big enough voice that what I say can make a difference."

Radford said he admires what the COC is doing with this new partnership, especially the efforts to reach out to schools and young athletes and promote inclusivity and equality.

"Team sports is such a perfect opportunity to teach people about being on a team, inclusivity, supporting each other," he said. "The more you're exposed to, the more open you become. ...If we'd had this in my hometown, maybe it would have saved me a lot of bullying."

He said his key message to young athletes would be that sexual orientation doesn't limit what you can achieve.

"It's letting them know it's okay, being gay isn't going to affect your future success."

Radford used to worry about that, though, especially in a judged sport like figure skating.

"Before Sochi, that was part of my fear," he said. "With it being a judged sport, I was worried."

He said the response from the figure-skating community (including many people who knew he was gay before this week's announcement) indicates that shouldn't be a problem, though.

"I was overreacting," he said. "Everyone's super supportive. It's a total non-issue. "

There were other concerns heading to Sochi, though, particularly the anti-gay propaganda laws passed in Russia shortly before the Olympics. Radford said he was worried before travelling there, but the COC and the Canadian team helped support him.

"Before I left, I had a lot of apprehension," he said. "When I got there, I felt completely safe."

The COC was criticized in some corners for not taking a firmer public stand against Russia and its anti-gay laws, but Radford said he understands why they took the approach they did, citing the need to balance taking care of their athletes and allowing them to compete against the desire to take a social stand. He said there's no clear answer to how to approach that, but he thought the COC handled the situation well.

"It's difficult to say exactly what the right thing is," Radford said. "They definitely gave me enough support."

Skating's still going to be the priority for Radford for some time, but he's also looking to do more with speaking to schools and taking part in programs like #OneTeam. His goal's to try and inspire young athletes regardless of their orientation.

"I would like to become more involved in these initiatives," he said. "In the end, if I can make a difference in any young athlete's life, it will be worth it."