Funding problems don’t just affect gay organisations in a recession; they affect gay sports people too. Diver and gold medal winner Matthew Mitcham is having trouble finding any backers for him to attend the 2012 Olympics, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
"Mitcham was - and still is - hoping that sponsorship can be a way of easing the financial pressure over the next four years to London 2012. It was a struggle leading into Beijing, and it was a journey he had to think long and hard about before committing again."
Juggling a full-time job with training is almost impossible, and the money he gets from diving is “less than minimum wage”. It really would be a better idea to walk away now.
“It’s like, do something that’s really, really hard and get paid next to nothing
for it - diving - or do I give it away and do something I will enjoy and get
more money for? It is a tough call, and I absolutely understand why a lot of
athletes retire after the Olympics because it takes so much out of your life.”
Matthew said,
I have so many interests in my life that my life could go in about 1,000
different directions, but diving is one of my main passions, and I do think that
I can achieve what I achieved, again.
1 comment:
Gee I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that he is gay? I mean I bet if he was straight he would have endorsements coming out his ears.His sexual preference has nothing to do with his ability as an athlete.I thought we had supposed to have moved past all that but obviously not.Maybe he should have stayed in the closet.Pathetic.
Post a Comment