Lundqvist Clarifies Stance on Olympic Outcry Last season, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was one of the first professional athletes to participate in the You Can Play campaign, promoting respect for all athletes without regard to sexual orientation. That was why some were surprised when Lundqvist, in Stockholm earlier this month to prepare for the Sochi Olympics, declined to comment on a new law in Russia that has been criticized in the West as antigay. "When it comes to the Olympics, I think you should just focus on the sport," Lundqvist said in Stockholm. His subdued remarks drew criticism, in part because two of his Sweden teammates, Henrik Zetterberg and Victor Hedman, spoke out strongly against the law. But on Sunday, Lundqvist clarified his stance. "Of course I don't agree with the laws they have there," Lundqvist said before a charity event in Brooklyn. I think everybody should have the same rights - it doesn't matter who you are. However, he also maintained that the Olympics should be kept separate from politics. "When it comes to the Olympics, I agree with a lot of people that it really shouldn't be a political place," Lundqvist said. When I think back at the countries that have hosted the Olympics, they all had some serious issues. If every time you have to comment on each country's issues, it's going to be more about the politics than the sport. Lundqvist's nuanced position demonstrates the difficult path athletes and coaches must negotiate as the outcry grows over the law, which bans "propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships." Last week, Brian Burke, part of USA Hockey's Olympic management team, rejected calls for a boycott of the Sochi Games in February because, he said, it would hurt the athletes. But he also suggested that participants "pack a rainbow pen" and give interviews in Sochi saying "you're pro-gay and that you support the L.G.B.T. community." Burke's comments carry particular weight. His son Brendan, who died in a car accident in 2010, came out a year earlier and had Burke's full support. His son Patrick founded and directs You Can Play. Lundqvist's remarks in Stockholm were made at the Sweden Olympic team's orientation camp, which he said he thought was an inappropriate venue for discussing the law. "I didn't really want to comment on it when I was there to represent Sweden at the Olympics," he said. But sitting here now, of course I have no problem saying I don't agree with the laws. Lundqvist, at the Aviator Sports Center for a two-day hockey clinic to benefit his new children's foundation, is going into the final year of his contract with the Rangers. He said contract talks with the Rangers are "volatile," but that "there's no pressure to get it done this summer." He said he "probably won't talk about my contract situation during the season." But the controversial Russian law is one subject that will keep coming up this season. "The Olympics are such a special event, something you dream about your entire life," he said. To add to the pressure on the athletes to get involved in politics - I don't think it's fair. I think you should be able to focus on your sport for that period of time.