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Mike Pence Tangles With Olympian Adam Rippon Over Gay Rights Record

The 2018 Winter Olympics officially opened on Friday but the first bit of drama has already boiled over: a three-way dispute between Adam Rippon, the first openly gay American man to qualify to compete in the Winter Games; Mike Pence, the conservative vice president and longtime opponent of gay rights; and the newspaper USA Today.

As controversies go, this one seems to have it all. Mr. Rippon, a charismatic 28-year-old figure skater, newly minted gay icon and social media darling, criticized Mr. Pence for his opposition to gay rights and long-rumored support of conversion therapy, a discredited practice that proponents claim can make gay people straight.