As the Winter Olympics officially begin in Italy, some Team USA athletes are sharing their thoughts about representing the United States amid a tumultuous political climate.
For the most part, the American athletes speak in general terms about their views, avoiding direct criticism of any individuals or organizations.
“I love the USA, and I think I would never want to represent a different country in the Olympics. With that being said, you know, a lot of times athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things. I feel heartbroken about what’s happened in the United States,” Team USA freestyle skier Chris Lillis told journalists on Friday in response to questions referencing ICE’s actions in Minneapolis and the protests against them.
“I think that as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody with love and respect,” Lillis said. “And I hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics, they realise that that’s the America that we’re trying to represent.”
Hunter Hess, another freestyle skier on Team USA, said his feelings about representing the U.S. on the international stage were complicated because of the domestic political situation.
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“I think it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t. I think for me it’s more I’m representing my, like, friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.,” Hess said.
“I just think, if it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.,” he continued. “So yeah, I just kind of want to do it like for my friends and my family and the people that supported me getting here.”
Trump administration envoy and Kennedy Center head Rich Grennell criticized Hess on social media on Saturday morning, suggesting the skier “move to Canada if you aren’t proud to wear USA.” Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, said online that Hess should “shut up and go play in the snow.”
On Wednesday, Texas figure skating champion Amber Glenn denounced the idea that athletes should not comment on current events.
“I hope I can use my platform and my voice throughout these Games to try and encourage people to stay strong in these hard times,” Glenn told journalists. “I know that a lot of people say you’re just an athlete, like, stick to your job, shut up about politics, but politics affect us all. It is something that I will not just be quiet about because it is something that affects us in our everyday lives. So of course, there are things that I disagree with, but as a community, we are strong and we support each other, and brighter days are ahead of us.”
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Glenn, who is set to compete in her first Olympics with Team USA, also said the American LGBTQ community was struggling under the Trump administration
“It’s been a hard time for the (LGBTQ) community overall in this administration,” Glenn said. “It isn’t the first time that we’ve had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights, and now especially, it’s not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities, and I think that we are able to support each other in a way that we didn’t have to before, and because of that, it’s made us a lot stronger.”
Gus Kenworthy, who is competing for the United Kingdom in these Olympic Games but has dual U.K. and U.S. citizenship and previously competed for Team USA, posted a photo earlier this week of an explicit message condemning ICE on social media. The message was written in urine in the snow.
In the photo caption, Kenworthy posted a script for Americans to use when calling their elected representatives to speak out against funding for ICE and Border Patrol.
“Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities,” the caption continued.
When asked whether Kenworthy would be disciplined for the message, a spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee told Britain’s Press Association that the organization “does not regulate personal social media posts.”
“During the Olympic Games, all participants have the opportunity to express their views as per the athlete expression guidelines,” the spokesperson said.
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In addition to policies at home, a number of actions taken by President Trump have triggered outrage abroad, including his recent threats to take control of Greenland.
At the Olympic opening ceremony on Friday, Vice President J.D. Vance received both cheers and boos in the arena.
Sarah Hirschland, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said earlier this week that members of Team USA had prepared for potential mixed receptions from international crowds during the Games.
“We don’t anticipate a lot of negative energy on the field of play, but we have done a ton of Games-readiness preparation with the athletes to ensure they feel comfortable and are not walking into an environment that is uncertain,” Hirschland said. “They know the resources available to them if an uncomfortable situation arises.”
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