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The figure skater said he would not be "welcome" by the Trump administration, and criticized the president for his offensive language.
Adam Rippon will make history as the first out figure skater to compete in the Winter Olympics -- but he will not be accepting any invitations from Donald Trump.
"Atheletes are given a really special platform. It's our duty, as athletes, to be role models. I won't go to the White House," said Rippon in an interview with the BBC.
"I won't go because I don't think somebody like me would be welcome there. I know what it's like to go into a room and feel like you're not wanted there," explained Rippon, who will represent the United States in men's singles this year as part of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team in PyeongChang.
"Given this platform of being an Olympic athlete, I think it's really important that we stand up for what we believe in, and we speak out against things that we think are wrong and injust [sic]."
[RELATED: 16 Gay and Bi Olympic Figure Skaters]
Rippon not be the only out athlete to boycott a presidential visit. Gay freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy said he would also refuse to go. "I have no interest in faking support. I don't want to go shake his hand," Kenworthy told Time magazine in December.
While in office, President Trump has repeatedly attacked LGBT rights -- rolling back protections for trans students, imposing a trans military ban, and scrapping the White House reception during Pride month. Moreover, his bigoted remarks -- most recently, his reference to Haiti and African nations as "shithole countries" -- routinely make headlines.
"If I talked to people the way that President Trump talks to people, my mom would kick my ass," Rippon said in the interview. Watch it below.
