{"id":4504,"date":"2014-02-18T21:39:59","date_gmt":"2014-02-19T04:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=4504"},"modified":"2014-02-18T21:39:59","modified_gmt":"2014-02-19T04:39:59","slug":"stapleton-pre-teen-aspires-to-be-first-hetero-male-olympic-figure-skater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stapletonion.com\/?p=4504","title":{"rendered":"Stapleton Pre-Teen Aspires to Be First Hetero Male Olympic Figure Skater"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Hetero<\/a>Many people were inspired by SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam\u2019s announcement that he is gay. If (when) he is drafted, Sam will become the NFL\u2019s first openly gay player. This type of courage inspired millions, but no one may have been more inspired than Stapleton 12 year old Andy Bukatz. \u201cHe is a hero of mine,\u201d said Bukatz. \u201cIt gave me the courage to talk to my parents about who I am, and then of course, my coaches.\u201d\nBukatz is a hard-working athlete like many of his friends. \u201cI play lots of sports, including football, baseball, and basketball,\u201d says Bukatz. \u201cBut, my favorite sport, and where I do the best, is ice skating.\u201d Bukatz works with a coach and team of ice skaters in Castle Rock. \u201cWe have practice four days a week, and it is almost 15 hours a week of practice,\u201d said Bukatz. \u201cBut it is what I love.\u201d It is not necessarily unique that Bukatz enjoys ice dancing, what makes him unique is that unlike other male ice dancers, Bukatz is heterosexual.\n\n\u201cIt was hard when I told my teammates,\u201d said Bukatz. \u201cI just didn\u2019t know how they were going to react. It was great that they were all so supportive, and didn\u2019t judge me. I think a lot of them already had a feeling that I was hetero, so the announcement probably wasn\u2019t that big of news to them.\u201d Bukatz says his parents were just as supportive when they heard the news. \u201cWe always kind of knew he was hetero,\u201d said Bukatz\u2019s father Alan. \u201cHe enjoyed trucks when he was little, loves tough-guy type movies, and never had any interest playing with dolls. So, it wasn\u2019t that big of a deal to us, and we want him to be who he is.\u201d\nBukatz coach Grigory Baranov says he supports Andy and this does not change his goals. \u201cWe still plan on Andy competing one day in Olympic,\u201d said Baranov. \u201cHe has talent, and he work hard. It not matter who he prefer to keep night company with. We want Olympic gold medal.\u201d Grigory acknowledges that Andy will face some challenges that other skaters will not face. \u201cThere will be discrimination, especially early. Judges may not like that he like girl instead of boy, but eventually his skating will overcome that.\u201d\nAndy says the timing was right to come out now. \u201cWith Sam coming out and saying who he is, it seemed like the right time for me. Also, if I can get it out of the way now, it hopefully will not be as big as a deal when I do qualify for the Olympics. Maybe I can just be another great skater competing for the gold.\u201d Andy may not completely understand the magnitude of his announcement. The NFL has had thousands of players over the years, and more than likely, there has already been gay athletes in the NFL. Figure skating became an Olympic sport in 1924, and through these 90 years, to a man, every male figure skater has been openly gay. \u201cI am proud of Andy,\u201d said former American figure skater and NBC broadcaster Johnny Weir. \u201cWill this be good for figure skating, is this going to open doors, will other skaters be receptive, these are the questions that time will have to answer.\u201d\nMany ice skaters took to social media to give their thoughts about Andy, which were mostly positive. @JohnnyGWeir wrote: \u201cAndy Bukatz, you go girl! Be who you are. Best of success and hope to see you with Gold! #yougogirl. @Tara_Lipinski wrote: \u201cSo great to see someone come out of the closet of being in the closet. Go for gold Andy!\u201d 2010 Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek commented on ESPN\u2019s Outside the Lines, \u201cIt\u2019s extremely courageous. I would say it\u2019s bigger than Jackie Robinson. I mean, at one point, we knew African Americans were going to play baseball. But, who could\u2019ve foreseen this?\u201d On the same program, 1948 and 1952 Olympic gold medalist Dick Button expressed his concern. \u201cFor a lot of these skaters, having someone a little different around is going to be hard. For example, will a hetero be more aggressive and potentially pick fights in locker rooms and staging areas. From what I know about heteros, they aren\u2019t always that easy to get along with. I mean, can you imagine a gracious hetero loser? I think it will cause some imbalances in the sport, and it won\u2019t be a good thing.\u201d\nRight now, Bukatz is just taking it one double axel at a time, as he prepares for the junior nationals coming up in April. \u201cIt will be my first major competition since the announcement,\u201d says Andy. \u201cI am excited, but nervous to see the reaction, not just of the judges, or my competitors, but the crowd.\u201d Heading into the event, it already seems Andy has won over many hearts, both gay and hetero.\n]]>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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