Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon pulls out of NBC gig

Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon has pulled out of a job as a correspondent for NBC at the Winter Games in South Korea.

News broke earlier Sunday that Rippon, one of the first openly gay U.S. athletes to compete at the Olympics, was being hired to work on TV, digital and social media for NBC for the remainder of the Games in Pyeongchang.

NBC tweeted out the news Sunday morning, welcoming the 28-year-old bronze medalist to its team.

But Rippon said hours later that although he was "so flattered" by NBC's offer, he decided against the move because it would mean leaving his U.S. teammates and the Olympic Village.

"It's so important to me, you know, I worked so hard to be on this Olympic team, and my teammates and my friends were there for me during my events, and that meant so much to me, that I really feel like I need to be there for them during their events," he said on NBCSN.

NBC's article online about Rippon becoming one of its correspondents now redirects readers to his Olympic profile page.

Rippon later suggested he only learned about the network's plans to hire him from social media.

"I actually found everything out about the offer via twitter HAHA," he tweeted. "2018 is wild girl."

 Rippon, who won bronze in the team skating event, has become one of the highest-profile athletes at the Games.

He made headlines for his criticisms of Vice President Mike Pence, and the politician's track record on LGBTQ issues. Rippon turned down a meeting with Pence, according to a USA Today report, and has said he will not visit the White House for a celebration.

As governor of Indiana, Pence signed the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allowed businesses to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers. Pence later signed an amendment that prevented the law from discriminating against LGBTQ customers.

Pence attended the Games in Pyeongchang and tweeted at Rippon saying that "we are FOR YOU. Don't let fake news distract you. I am proud of you and ALL OF OUR GREAT athletes and my only hope for you and all of #TeamUSA is to bring home the gold."

Source: cnn