United States Flagbearer Named
Todd Lodwick will carry the United States flag into Fisht Stadium for Friday's Opening Ceremony.
Lodwick competes in Nordic combined and won the silver medal with the United States 4x5m relay team in 2010.
Lodwick turned 37 last November and is competing in his 6th Winter Olympics, an American record.
He has competed in every Winter Olympics since 1994 in Lillehammer, but won his first Nordic combined world championship medal in 2009.
Although not expected to medal in Sochi, Lodwick was chosen to lead the US delegation due to his experience and leadership he provides to the U.S. team.
King Out of U.S. Delegation
American tennis legend Billie Jean King will not be a member of the U.S. delegation to Sochi Games.
She will instead remain home to attend to her ailing mother.
"It is important for me to be with my mother and my brother at this difficult time," said King in a statement. "I want to thank President Obama for including me in this historic mission and I look forward to supporting our athletes as they compete in Sochi."
King is among three gay athletes named to the delegation by Obama, along with ice hockey player Caitlin Cahow and figure skater Brian Boitano. The measure was seen by many as a rebuke of Russia’s anti-gay policies.
AT&T Condemns Anti-Gay Law
AT&T, a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee, has issued a strong statement against the Winter Olympic host country.
"We support LGBT equality globally and we condemn violence, discrimination, and harassment targeted against LGBT individuals everywhere," said the telecommunications giant in a blog post.
The statement, AT&T said, was prompted by a request from the Human Rights Campaign for responses from major IOC sponsors to Russia’s anti-gay legislation. Though AT&T is not an IOC sponsor, it says it supports the campaign’s principles.
"AT&T should be recognized for showing true leadership in opposing this hateful Russian law, and other sponsors that have failed to lead should take corrective action immediately," said Human Rights Campaign on its website.
AT&T is the first major U.S. corporation to decry the law publicly.
Laureus Awards to Kuala Lampur
The Laureus World Sports Awards have a new home: Kuala Lampur.
Three weeks ago, Laureus announced the event would not take place in Rio de Janeiro, as originally scheduled. The move was seen as a black eye for Brazil, which will host the World Cup and the Summer Olympics over the next three years.
"It is an exciting development that Laureus is being held in southeast Asia for the first time, enabling the Laureus message to be extended to a new part of the world," said Laureus World Sports Academy chairman Edwin Moses.
The event will take place on Wednesday, March 26.
Written by Nick Devlin and Aaron Bauer.
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