From NY Post: They’re getting gold medals in ungratefulness.
Woke Team USA members expressed “mixed emotions” about representing the Stars and Stripes at the Winter Olympics, sparking calls by some Americans to boycott the Games.
Freestyle skier Hunter Hess ignited the firestorm Friday after telling reporters that wearing the American flag doesn’t mean he backs everything “going on” in the US.
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now,” Hess said. “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.”
“Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the US,” he added.
“I’m heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States,” Team USA freestyle skier Chris Lillis said. “I think that as a country we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we are treating our citizens as well as anybody with love and respect.”
“I hope that when people look at athletes [who] compete in the Olympics, they realize that that’s the America that we’re trying to represent,” he added.
Amber Glenn, a Team USA figure skater, also spoke out.
“Politics affects us all,” she said. “It is something I will not just be quiet about.”
Why’d you turn off your comments, Hunter Hess?
Face the country you hate, the men and women who fought and died for you to be there. Coward. pic.twitter.com/81n56EAfAD
— Erikaaa (@ErikaC47) February 7, 2026
Many were shocked by the comments, calling the athletes privileged, ungrateful, and disrespectful. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) directed a message at the athletes.
“YOU chose to wear our flag. YOU chose to represent our country. YOU chose to compete at the @Olympics,” Donalds wrote on X. “If that’s too hard for you, then GO HOME. Some things are bigger than politics. You just don’t get it.”
YOU chose to wear our flag.
YOU chose to represent our country.
YOU chose to compete at the @Olympics.If that’s too hard for you, then GO HOME.
Some things are bigger than politics.
You just don’t get it. pic.twitter.com/H3cvUwuyMA
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) February 7, 2026
Some have compared the 2026 athletes’ comments to those of Tamyra Mensah-Stock, a female wrestler who became the first U.S. black woman to win wrestling gold at the Tokyo Olympics. She expressed great pride in representing America.
Read more at NY Post
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