"As concerned as we are about the Olympics, that's nothing. That's two, three, four weeks for the athletes and participants and the visitors," Baird said in a telephone interview from Colombia with CBC.
"This mean-spirited and hateful law will affect all Russians 365 days of the year, every year. It is an incitement to intolerance, which breeds hate. And intolerance and hate breed violence."
Baird did not endorse recent calls for a boycott but said Russia's hosting of the Olympics would draw attention to the issue.
"In the run-up to the Olympics, it provides a spotlight on this mean-spirited and hateful law," Baird said. "Hopefully, we can use that spotlight to bring pressure to bear on the Russian government."
I do support boycotting all Russian products including vodkas to put pressure on that foolish country to reverse these hateful laws. I also think athletes should put aside their massive ambitions and consider for a moment the moral implications of competing in a Games in a country that treats its minorities this way. For me, it's like refusing to stop eating at a 'No Jews Allowed' restaurant just because you can't get enough of the food.
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