Swimmer Magazine the official publication of United States Masters Swimming ran an article in the e September-October that "embraced the diversity of two gay swimmers (one white, and one black) who where recently profiled" (source igla.org) Now I didn't read the article as in my moving I never did receive that issue. I personally applaud USMS Swimmer magazine for publishing the story. But then in the January-February 2011 issue of Swimmer Magazine they published a hateful letter from a Mr Glenn Welsford of Columbia Masters -
SWIMMER magazine’s (September – October 2010) article entitled “Swimmer on ‘The Real World’ Shakes Up Stereotypes,” did shake me up. Homosexuality is akin to thievery, adultery, and other sins that should not be tolerated or accepted as that of society just coming of age. Homosexuality destroys lives, individually, as well as that of the society as a whole. I am glad for the obvious success of Tyler Duckworth in the water but saddened to hear of his sinful homosexual lifestyle choice.
-- Glenn Welsford, ColumbiaMasters,South Carolina
Many organizations have criticized USMS for publishing this hateful letter. IGLA The International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics released the following statement:
It is important to note that there has also been significant support for diversity in swimming. This is noted in a positive letter to the editor that was printed just below the hate mail. Having said this, IGLA believes it is important to distinguish between what falls within the right of free-speech, encouraging discourse and opposing opinions, and what is plain hate, meant to damage and cause harm.
Swimmer Magazine should rethink letters that offer no further discussion about the topics at hand. IGLA believes that diversity makes swimming strong. Communities are built by inclusion and appreciation for all members of the community. Making Swimmer Magazine a forum to vent one’s prejudicial beliefs or distaste for any member of US Masters Swimming is just plain wrong and destructive.
You can read the full response at igla.org
The Gay Games Blog has posted two articles on this issue including "IGLA protests hateful letter in Swimmer magazine" LINK and "More on homophobic letter in Swimmer Magazine" LINK. The Gay Games blog posted "e join our friends in encouraging you and those around you to write your own letter to Laura Hamel (Editor@usms.org) and Rob Butcher (ExecutiveDirector@usms.org) calling for a prompt apology and retraction."
I am with the Gay Games Blog and believe that USMS MUST issue an apology on the USMS website immediately and then print the apology with a retraction in the next issue of Swimmer Magazine. Hate is hate and USMS cannot allow hate have any part in and out of the pool.
As of now USMS Swimmer Editor has been replying to emails sent to her and have posted this letter on the USMS Forum Discussion LINK on this topic. Here is her response:
Thank you for your letter. Normally I would not respond personally to letters to the editor, but because of the emotional letters I have received, I did not want to give the impression that nothing was happening behind the scenes at SWIMMER. With only six issues per year, you would not see your letter or read any type of response until the March-April and/or May-June issues.
It was not my intent to cause anyone any pain with the printing of the letter in question, only to shed light on the fact that there is much work to be done, even in the very diverse, accepting and inclusive subculture we call USMS. I have written about this in several previous editorials, so Mr. Welsford's letter, which surprised and saddened me, was somewhat of a wake-up call.
Although you may not believe that I deserve it, I am asking for your trust that my motives were not driven by intolerance or sensationalism, but by a constant pursuit of openness and honesty-- even when it is uncomfortable. It is my hope that you will look to the next two issues of SWIMMER for more on this topic. If you were personally hurt by reading Mr. Welsford's words, I am truly sorry-- that was not my intent in printing them.
Regards,
Laura
__________________
Laura Hamel
Editor-in-Chief,
U.S. Masters Swimming
Editor is offline
I personally believe that this doesn't go far enough and this letter needs to be posted on the front of the USMS website and not burried in among the forum.
UPDATE: "USMS Apology for Letter to the Editor" LINK -
Dear USMS Membership,
We want to personally apologize to all our members for the pain and anger that the publication of Glenn Welsford’s letter to the editor in the January-February 2011 issue of SWIMMER magazine may have caused. USMS does not endorse or support Mr. Welsford’s opinion.
For those unfamiliar with the issue, Mr. Welsford submitted a letter to the editor in response to a feature story in the November-December 2010 issue of SWIMMER magazine. In that issue, we ran a five-page feature story profiling and celebrating Tyler Duckworth, an openly gay swimmer and reality TV star. In the same issue, we also ran a half-page book review of Jeff Commings’s autobiography Odd Man Out, in which Mr. Commings tells his story as a gay black swimmer. Editor Laura Hamel penned her editorial for that issue celebrating the inclusiveness of swimming and highlighting the acceptance of our differences that our members share with one another.
We should have used better judgment during the editorial review of Mr. Welsford’s letter. We could have asked him to resubmit his letter in a more sensitive and appropriate tone and made sure it met with stricter standards for such letters. And if we had deemed the second letter appropriate to print, we should have printed an explanation adjacent to it due to the sensitive nature of the topic. While, again, we do not endorse or support Mr. Welsford’s opinion, we respect his right or any other member’s right to have an opinion and have it considered for publication.
Language is included in the masthead of the magazine on page 4 that opinions expressed by authors and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the policies of USMS. In our next issue, we will add more substantive language that letters to the editor do not reflect the opinions of USMS either. We will also clarify and publish our policies on accepting letters to the editor so that we can continue to allow healthy dialogue within that department. Recognizing the pain and anger that Mr. Welsford’s letter has caused, we have destroyed all remaining issues of SWIMMER that would have been mailed to members who register past the mailing date and also removed his letter from the online version of SWIMMER.
In addition, we would like to publicly apologize to Tyler Duckworth for the publication of Mr. Welsford’s letter.
Swimming for Life,
Rob Butcher Laura Hamel
Which should be the "end of story" but I'm just shocked shocked that they'd run the letter in the first place. What were they thinking? When they were selecting letters to the editor to print what part of "Homosexuality is akin to thievery, adultery, and other sins that should not be tolerated or accepted as that of society just coming of age. Homosexuality destroys lives, individually, as well as that of the society as a whole" sounded okay to print? If this wasn't a free magazine I'd cancel my subscription. An apology is what was called for but it would have been better if the parties involved with Swimmer Magazine had never printed the words of hate in the first place. Shame on USMS Swimmer Editors and staff.
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