COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Olympic gold medal gymnast Peter Vidmar is stepping down as chief of mission for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team following a controversy over his opposition to gay marriage.
Vidmar said Friday he could not allow his presence to be a “detriment to the U.S. Olympic family.” By stepping down, Vidmar says he hopes “the athletes and their stories will rightly take center stage.” No replacement was named.
Vidmar, a Mormon, was a public supporter of Proposition 8, the voter-approved law passed in 2008 that restricted marriage in California to one man and one woman. The Mormon church believes all sexual relations outside of marriage are wrong, and defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.
