4. Olympics Out of Cobb: One last battle

Sportshour

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive.

In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes".

Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome.

In Episode 4 it's early 1996 and preparations for the Games are nearly complete. Just the torch relay, the symbolic journey the Olympic flame makes to the host city, carried by the great and good across the host nation. Despite everything, the flame was still set to pass through Cobb County. But Jon-Ivan Weaver and Pat Hussain weren't going to allow that to happen. Plus, we also discuss how far gay rights have come in the last thirty years, and how much further they still need to go.

This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta Organising Committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets

Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library