--- description: And it quotes the Olympic Charter to remind us all that athletes must compete "without discrimination of any kind" title: Google Gay Rights Sochi Olympic Doodle image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Google Doodle Upholds Gay Rights Ahead of Sochi Olympics  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2014 2:23 AM CUT  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2014 2:23 AM CUT Google Thursday’s Google Doodle is a not-so-subtle pre-Olympics shot at Russia’s less-than-stellar record on gay rights. The doodle, which is also featured on Google’s .ru Russia address, features a series of winter athletes set in rainbow colors, with a pointed quote from the Olympic Charter below Google’s search bar. Clicking the doodle itself also points users to the Olympic Charter. Here’s the quote on Google’s landing page: --- > “” --- Russia has been [heavily criticized](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26043872 "undefined") for its stance on gay rights leading up to the Sochi Winter Olympics. **MORE:** [Sochi 2014: Snowboarding, Skiing and Skating Ring in the Games](http://keepingscore.blogs.time.com/2014/02/06/sochi-winter-olympics-start-early-photos/ "undefined") Earlier on Thursday, United Nations Secretary General [Ban Ki-moon](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/06/sochi-olympics-ban-ki-moon-lgbt-prejudice "undefined") discussed “attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people” in Russia, saying that “we must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5206/google-gay-rights-sochi-olympic-doodle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5206/google-gay-rights-sochi-olympic-doodle/"},"headline":"Google Doodle Upholds Gay Rights Ahead of Sochi Olympics","datePublished":"2014-02-07T02:23:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:48:48.901Z","description":"And it quotes the Olympic Charter to remind us all that athletes must compete \"without discrimination of any kind\"","url":"https://time.com/5206/google-gay-rights-sochi-olympic-doodle/","keywords":["Newsfeed","russia","olympics","Internet","Google","Winter Olympics","Sochi","Google Doodle"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5206/google-gay-rights-sochi-olympic-doodle/","name":"Google Doodle Upholds Gay Rights Ahead of Sochi Olympics"}}]}] ```