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Sacked Gay Russian Newscaster Argues Against Olympic Boycott

MOSCOW -- Russian news anchor Anton Krasovsky, who was fired after coming out during a live broadcast on a state controlled network, spoke out against a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

During an interview Tuesday with CNN Krasovsky said;

"Russian gay people need international support, but international support is not a boycott of Sochi Olympic games, because Olympic games is an international event. It's not a Russian event, it's not a personal event of Putin, it's an event of millions and millions of people ... 7 million people in Russia are gay. 

If you want to boycott Olympic games in Russia, you're trying to boycott 7 million gay people in Russia. You want to boycott me?"

Krasovsky came out as gay this past January during a live broadcast on Russia-KontrTV, after he had anchored a show that exclusively covered the anti-gay propaganda bill which was passed into law in June and signed by Rusiian President Vladimir Putin.

During the unrelated news broadcast, Krasovsky told viewers;

"I’m gay, and I’m just the same person as you, my dear audience, as president Putin, as prime minister Medvedev and deputies of our Duma."

He was fired within hours of his announcement. Krasovsky later told western media outlets that following his announcement and the network's termination of his employment, "I get thousands of letters of support. Thousands. But only a few contain threats."

Controversy over the new Russian law has recently pitted some LGBT/Human Rights advocacy groups and LGBTQ activists against other activists in terms of the most effective means by which to draw attention to the law which bans "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations," and has led some to call for a complete boycott of the Olympic games.

President Barack Obama weighed in last week on teh tonight Show with Jay Leno condemning  Russia's legislation against LGBT people, though he argued against calls for the boycott.