Samoa lifts ban
on gay sex during games

The Samoa National Olympic Committee is overturning a ban on gay sex that was intended to "protect" athletes during the South Pacific Games, Radio Australia reports.

The rules--published on Tuesday--apply to Samoan competitors participating in the two-week event. According to Radio Australia, athletes were told not to embarrass themselves, their family, or their country.

The ban stated that homosexual acts are against the law of God, reports Radio Australia.

Samoa National Olympic Committee president Tapasu Leung Wai has issued an order to negate the ban. He explained to Radio Australia that the rules were a draft and should not have been released to the public.

"I regret that it appeared that gay people were being singled out in the draft instructions," he said to the station. "Team managers agreed yesterday that the reference be deleted."

Leung Wai explained to Radio Australia that team managers were trying to protect the athletes, and that the resulting rules were unintentionally defamatory. "[The way] we are brought up, there is no hard feelings against anybody. We treat everybody as equal."

In August and September, Samoa will be hosting almost 5,000 people from 22 nations during the South Pacific Games, the region's largest multisport event. (The Advocate)