It’s their life, it’s their choice, but it’s not normal, says Russian pole vault champion and Olympic Village mayor Yelena Isinbayeva about fellow gay Olympians.

Isinbayeva also referred to gay and trans people as a “problem” (see video below):

“If we allow to promote and do all this stuff on the street, we are very afraid about our nation because we consider ourselves like normal, standard people… We just live with boys with woman, woman with boys…. Everything must be fine. It comes from history. We never had any problems, these problems in Russia, and we don’t want to have any in the future.”

You never had these problems in Russia. Yeah, because you used to just throw everyone you didn’t like in a gulag.

Oh, and Isinbayeva also added that it’s “disrespectful” of Russia for gay athletes to object to being thrown in prison. Yeah. Gays are funny that way.

The International Olympic Committee declined to comment on the fact that Russia’s mayor for the Olympic Village thinks gay Olympic athletes aren’t “normal.” Then again, remember, these are the folks who defended Hitler’s Olympics, and accused Americans who were pushing a boycott of the Nazi Olympics in 1936 of being “liars.” It takes a lot to cross the line, if there is even a line, for these people.

Isinbayeva was upset that Swedes, and other athletes, at a recent competition in Moscow took a stand against rampant Russian homophobia, including a new law that may land gay Olympic athletes in jail. The Swedes painted their nails rainbow colors.

One of those athletes who took a stand is American runner Nick Symmonds (who dedicated his medal just won in Moscow to the LGBT community). Symmonds was none too pleased to hear about Isinbayeva tirade, and good for him:

“Oh, my god. I can’t believe she said that. It’s bad,” Symmonds told the AP. “For Yelena to come out and say we are normal, standard Russian citizens — I’m paraphrasing here — and we don’t stand for that. “I want to say to Yelena, ‘You understand a very large portion of your citizens here are gay and lesbian people. They are standard people, too. They were created this way. For you to tell them that they’re not normal and standard, that’s what we’re taking an issue with.’ That’s why we have to continue to demonstrate and to speak out against the ignorance that she’s showing.”

And there’s now video.

By the way, I wonder how all those companies whose brands are proudly displayed behind Miss Normal feel about their good name being used to endorse this kind of bigotry and intolerance. Companies like Toyota, Canon, TDK, TBS, Adidas, Seiko.

Perhaps someone should ask them.