Team USA freestyle skiers faced backlash for their critical remarks on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while competing under the American flag at the Winter Olympics.
Social media users criticized skier Hunter Hess after he and fellow athlete Chris Lillis publicly distanced themselves from ICE and the Trump administration. According to reports, Hess emphasized that donning the national flag does not equate to endorsing “everything that’s going on in the U.S.”
Hess expressed mixed feelings about representing the United States, stating, “It’s a bit challenging. There’s a lot happening that I’m not particularly supportive of, and I believe many share this sentiment. If it aligns with my values, I feel like I’m representing it—but just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I stand for everything happening in the U.S.”
“If he doesn’t like the flag and what it represents, he is welcome to find another country,” one person wrote in a post on X. “We don’t care.”
“I’m thinking the Olympics TV ratings aren’t going to be phenomenal,” one person wrote.
“Privileged Gen Z from Oregon hasn’t traveled much,” Presidential Envoy for Special Missions Richard Grenell wrote in a post. “He’s representing the greatest country in the world…move to Canada if you aren’t proud of wear USA.”
“And this is one reason I don’t plan to watch the Olympics,” another person wrote in a post, adding that “the other reason is it is just mostly boring.”
