Tom Shields Apologizes for Inappropriate Remark on Instagram Story

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

U.S. Olympic swimmer Tom Shields has apologized for inappropriate comments he made in an Instagram post over the weekend. In the post, Shields referred to a new pair of shoes as “gay,” with a negative connotation.

After LGBTQ news site Queerty posted the story to their site, Shields owned up to his words in a Twitter post.

Ok. I said this. It was wrong. I'm sorry. Grew up using this as term for social control. Not an excuse. It doesn't matter what I meant, it associated a great community with being "less than", all that mattered was any pain I possibly brought into people's lives.For that I'm sorry pic.twitter.com/Zk55g8iQ32

— Tom Shields (@beefyTshields) December 19, 2017

Shields reached out to Swimming World Tuesday to apologize further. “Yesterday Graham Gremore (of Queerty) correctly criticized me for something I did that was wrong. I compared being outlandishly attention seeking, or self-improvement focused to being ‘gay,” Shields wrote in an email.

More of Shields’ statement is posted below:

My toes curl under each other, and one of my nails is pointy and nasty. It tears into its neighboring toe when I work out, especially when I lift weights. I have held off trying Vibrams five finger shoes for a couple years now, basically because I did not want to be made fun of. While there are many terms people use for this mocking affair, we cannot pretend that these homosexual slurs were not apart of that lexicon for a long, long time. I am not defending it being apart of the lexicon any longer, I am simply recognizing a truth. So, in my story post, I was stupidly saying that while these shoes might help me, the mere fact I got them for that purpose… you know the rest. Weaker. Less than. Associated with being gay. That is wrong. It’s not tough to walk in the rain without an umbrella; it’s kind of ignorant. It’s not tough to avoid wearing shoes that are healthier for my feet. We all know this. I’m sorry. I was in the wrong.

I am not defending myself from criticism regarding my use of the term in a way that perpetuates stereotypes, causes intense pain for those growing up, who are struggling with their sexual identity, or any other damage it might cause. The criticism that I let the voice in the back of my head from “when I was in fourth grade” (to paraphrase Graham) dominate my actions is right on point. I have never really stopped to think, or hear, about what that inner dialogue must be from a homosexual person’s perspective, only mine.

That was huge blindspot.

Yesterday, one of my followers on Instagram told me about a youth he works with. I don’t want to give away any specifics, as I don’t want to shift focus away from my actions. But this person told me about how what I said made that young person feel. They looked up to me, and they have been struggling with their identity for some time. So where in my head these terms are just merely a synonym for “not behaving like one of the pack” or “haha got you!”, for others it can cause deep seated(seeded?) emotional distress. If you want to say I came to this realization ten years, or twenty years too late, you’re probably right.

If you find yourself wanting to attack your keyboard and yell at me “WE ALREADY KNOW ALL OF THIS; THE PROBLEM IS YOU DON’T.” Of course, but I can only show what I’ve learned by reporting it. If there is anything else you feel I need to know, I invite you message me.

One of the main criticisms I’ve received is that I don’t “get it,” through my twitter-apology, or my actions. I guess in a sense I agree — I don’t think I’ll ever have true empathy with the LGBTQ community. I think for me to say that I can, coming from my background, would be ludicrous. I am a very fortunate person, not to say you are unfortunate. I only say that to mean while I may have faced some harassment in my life (young boys tend to not take too kindly to those that shave their whole bodies, for example), it most likely pales in comparison to the amount of abuse and societal pressures put on you. So in that sense, I agree, I will never truly “get it.” I hope I have shown I have sympathy, and wish to continue to grow that sympathy.

I am truly sorry for any pain I have caused.

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Shaheen Alghofari

6 years ago

Oooooooo Joe Stott

Thomas A. Small

6 years ago

He was man enough to say he was wrong and he did the right thing

6 years ago

@ Tom Shields. I appreciate that you apologized on IG and also took the time to personally ( not a publicist ) write a detailed, thoughtful, sincere and self aware apology via Swimming World. I think you showed the kind of person you really are and earned a lot of respect today. Thank you.
Best of luck in your pro career. I was a fan of your swimming and I still am.

Fed up

6 years ago

Crazy that a guy that lives in the Bay Area with the spotlight and expectations of the brands he represents and kids that look up to him would publicly make such an ignorant statement. I don’t care what the consequences are for him. I consider him “less than” amongst thoughtful intelligent people.

I’m gay. This stuff hurts real people. I hope he gets some hurt over this. GROW UP.

Michael Williams

6 years ago

Give it a rest..

Donald P. Spellman

6 years ago

I’ve only met Tom a few times (on the pool deck at meets and at convention).

He was always courteous and is known for his work ethic and for being a good teammate.
Tom posted something stupid / insensitive (similar to dialogue from “South Park”) on a social media account and apologized for it properly.

*Those finger toe shoes look silly……
but not as whacky as Crocs.

Alex Grant

6 years ago

Eric Pelletier Spencer Bougie Charles Millette lmao

Gary

6 years ago

I doubt if most gays would have thought anything of it. There’s always some fragile few. That said, I do not like hateful comments for no good reason. I suspect that Tom meant no such thing. How many of us have called something gay or hetero to express our inoffensive dislike?

Liam Moran

6 years ago

Robert Williams Brooks McCoy

Leander

6 years ago

A tear ran down Tom’s face when he realized that he loved Big Brother . . . . . .