Five-time U.S. Olympian takes stand against SeaWorld

Tony Azevedo is a week away from his competing in his fifth Olympics, the most ever for an American water polo player, and he’s using his global platform to fight against SeaWorld.

In an ad campaign with PETA, Azevedo is asking SeaWorld to free its orcas and retire the whales to sanctuaries.

SeaWorld has been in PETA’s crosshairs for a long time, with the 2013 documentary “Blackfish” stirring plenty of outrage about the theme park’s treatment of orcas.

Azevedo, 34, made his Olympic debut at age 18 in the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, but only recently began his push for animal rights. On his website, Azevedo said that he became an animal advocate “after witnessing first-hand how cities hosting the Olympics try to ‘clean up’ quickly.”

[Related: They’re no spring chickens, but these Team USA elders can hang]

Stray animals have been featured in many stories during recent Olympics, with many athletes adopting strays during the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. World Animal Protection, a nonprofit animal welfare organization, has offered its support to the 2016 Rio Organizing Committee in dealing with the stray animals in the city.

Azevedo was the leading scorer during Team USA’s silver-medal run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was the United States flag bearer during the Closing Ceremony in the 2012 London Olympics.