Gay US Olympic skier claims broken thumb as excuse not to shake Pence’s hand

U.S. Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy said on Thursday that a broken thumb will prevent him from shaking Vice President Pence’s hand at a later Olympic ceremony.

Kenworthy, one of the first two openly gay men to represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics, has been openly critical of Pence and the Trump administration’s treatment of LGBT citizens.

On Thursday, Kenworthy announced on Twitter that he had injured his thumb, saying it would not prevent him from skiing but would prevent him from shaking Pence’s hand. {mosads}

“Broke my thumb yesterday in practice. It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so… Silver linings! Will be giving my teammates (and literally everyone else) an enthusiastic “thumbs up!” of encouragement the rest of the trip,” Kenworthy tweeted.

Broke my thumb yesterday in practice. It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so… Silver linings! Will be giving my teammates (and literally everyone else) an enthusiastic “thumbs up!” of encouragement the rest of the trip. pic.twitter.com/XylPPGAq9P

— Gus Kenworthy (@guskenworthy) February 15, 2018

The Olympic skier previously made headlines when he spoke out against Pence, calling the vice president a “bad fit” for the Olympic delegation.

“[Pence] seems like such a strange choice,” Kenworthy said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“To have somebody leading the delegation that’s directly attacked the LGBTQ community, and a Cabinet in general that just sort of stands against us and has tried to do things to set us back, it just seems like a bad fit.”

Pence has faced particular criticism from the LGBT community over his signing of a religious freedom law as Indiana’s governor, which many viewed as a gateway for LGBT discrimination.

The vice president lead the U.S. delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, which are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“I feel like the Olympics is all about inclusion and people coming together, and it seems like [Pence’s inclusion in the delegation is] not really doing that,” Kenworthy said earlier this month.

Kenworthy previously participated in the 2014 Winter Olympics, placing silver, but was not openly gay at the time.