‘Great’ moments in Olympics coverage (When Tyson Gay became Tyson Homosexual)
Newspaper refused to print the word “gay,” used find-and-replace, called sprinter Tyson Gay “Tyson Homosexual.” voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/07…
— Francis Lam (@Francis_Lam) August 6, 2012
It was four years ago when the conservative American Family Association’s OneNewsNow site changed sprinter Tyson Gay’s name to Tyson Homosexual. (Tyson Homosexual was a blur in blue, sprinting 100 meters faster than anyone ever has. …”It means a lot to me,” the 25-year-old Homosexual said. “I’m glad my body could do it, because now I know I have it in me.”)
“Tyson Homosexual”
The news director of OneNewsNow told Mary Ann Akers in 2008: “We took the filter out for that word” after Tyson Homosexual surfaced on the site. “We don’t object to the word ‘gay,’” except “when it refers to people who practice a homosexual lifestyle.” (He said a “software glitch” was responsible for the sprinter’s name being changed.)
The “G” word, the news director complained, has “been co-opted by a particular group of people.”
The AFA apparently has changed its thinking over the years: right now I see the word “gay” used seven times on One News Now’s home page.
* July 1, 2008: Christian site’s ban on ‘G’ word sends Homosexual to Olympics (washingtonpost.com)
* June 30, 2008: American Family Association’s search/replace function works perfectly (scienceblogs.com)
