Tom Daley condemned anti-LGBTQ remarks aired during Russian TV Olympic coverage: ‘It takes a lot to come out and speak openly’

• Tom Daley condemned slurs Russian TV broadcasters reportedly used to describe LGBTQ Olympians, including himself.
• Daley told The Telegraph he feels "extremely lucky" to be an openly gay man and gold-medal diver.
• He said that as a publicly out athlete, "it takes a lot to come out and speak openly."
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The Telegraph reported Saturday that the International Olympic Committee has launched an investigation into Russia's state-run Tokyo Olympics TV broadcaster that aired a segment in which broadcasters called LGBTQ Olympians "dirt," "perverts," and "psychopaths."

British diver and Olympic gold-medalist Tom Daley condemned homophobic slurs broadcasters on the Russia-1 network made toward publicly out LGBTQ athletes – including himself – telling The Telegraph that "it takes a lot to come out and speak openly."

Broadcasters on the Russia-1 network criticized Daley and his husband, Dustin Lance Black, who share a 3-year-old son together, The Telegraph reported.

"In Britain, of course, they have their own values," broadcaster Olga Skabeyeva said in a Russia-1 broadcast with a photo of Daley and Black, according to The Telegraph. "If these guys weren't raising a child together, then it'd be their business. They at least compete with other blokes."

Daley told The Telegraph that he initially "had no idea" about the Russia-1 broadcast, saying: "When we're at the Olympics, we're in a bubble and we don't really see anything."

"History shows that everything that society is has been dictated from the straight, white, male experience. If we could come together and use different points of view, the world would be a better place," Daley told The Telegraph.

According to OutSports, there are 182 publicly out LGBTQ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics - more than triple the number of publicly out LGBTQ athletes at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. There were 23 publicly out Olympians in 2012, and later 56 at the 2012 London Games, Out Sports reported. The Tokyo Olympics was also the first to host openly transgender athletes, including Laurel Hubbard, Canadian soccer player Quinn, and USA skateboarder Alana Smith.

Daley also told The Telegraph that "there's still a lot further to go," adding that being publicly out as LGBTQ is considered a crime in some countries.

Daley added: "I feel extremely lucky to be representing Team GB, to be able to stand on the diving board as myself, with a husband and a son, and not have to worry about any ramifications."

Daley added that he hoped seeing LGBTQ athletes at the Tokyo Olympics would help change people's attitudes.

"I just hope that seeing 'out' sportspeople will help people to feel like they are less alone, like they are valued, like they can achieve something,' Daley told The Telegraph. "When I was growing up, I always knew I was different. I always heard people saying bad things. You never feel as if you can say anything. You swallow yourself up, and you feel like you're never going to be anyone."

He continued to The Telegraph, saying: "It can be quite daunting and scary for people, especially in sports where the fanbases might not be as accepting. I didn't realise the impact it would have on people around the world to live as myself. I feel extremely proud of that."

Daley won his first Olympic gold medal alongside Matty Lee in the men's synchronized 10-meter diving event in Tokyo. After the event, Daley said that he felt empowered to be a "gay man and also an Olympic champion."

Read the full report from The Telegraph here.