Team USA Athletes SPEAK OUT About ICE During Olympics

Team USA arrived in Italy to chase medals, then found themselves defending what “America” even means.

Quick Take

Several U.S. winter Olympians said they feel pride in the country while rejecting specific policies tied to immigration enforcement and civil rights.
Freestyle skiers Chris Lillis and Hunter Hess described “mixed emotions” as they prepared to compete in Milano-Cortina.
Figure skater Amber Glenn linked her Olympic moment to the pressure felt by LGBTQ Americans at home.
ICE activity in Minneapolis and the reported deployment of ICE agents to Olympics security in Milan helped trigger protests abroad and sharpened the spotlight on Team USA.

Milano-Cortina Opens with a New Kind of Noise Around Team USA

The 2026 Winter Olympics began with a familiar promise—sports above politics—then reality cut straight through it. U.S. athletes walked into pre-Games press moments as protests flared over immigration enforcement back home and anger simmered in Italy over ICE-linked security presence. The result looked less like a culture-war sideshow and more like a credibility test: can Americans represent their nation without endorsing everything their government does?

Chris Lillis, a 2022 Olympic champion in freestyle skiing, spoke with restraint but not detachment. He described heartbreak about events in the U.S. while still insisting he wanted to represent “positive America”—the people and ideals he believes in, not the uglier headlines. Hunter Hess echoed the same split: he competes for his community—family, friends, teammates—while refusing to pretend every federal action deserves his personal stamp of approval.

What Sparked the Athletes’ Comments: Minneapolis, ICE, and a Story That Traveled

Late January reports out of Minneapolis set the tone. ICE actions sparked protests and were linked in coverage to fatal shootings involving individuals identified as Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Details in public discussion stayed emotionally charged, and that uncertainty matters: serious claims demand serious documentation. Still, the athletes’ point wasn’t courtroom proof; it was moral unease, the feeling that government power can land on the wrong people and ruin ordinary lives.

That unease followed Team USA across the Atlantic. Demonstrations in Milan targeted the U.S. decision to deploy ICE agents for Olympics-related security, and the opening ceremony produced a mixed reception for Vice President J.D. Vance—some cheers, some boos. Americans over 40 will recognize the pattern: domestic fights don’t stay domestic anymore. The Olympics, built as a showcase of unity, becomes the world’s loudest mirror.

Amber Glenn and the “Stick to Sports” Trap

Figure skater Amber Glenn framed her comments around the strain felt by LGBTQ Americans under the Trump administration. She signaled she expected backlash from the “stick to sports” crowd and planned to speak anyway. That choice carries risk, not just online but professionally—sponsors, judges, and federations all notice. Glenn’s posture also carries a calculated realism: public silence now gets interpreted as approval by someone, somewhere.

From a conservative, common-sense standpoint, the public should demand two things at once: athletes shouldn’t be bullied into political scripts, and they also shouldn’t be treated like property whose only job is to perform and smile. Americans value free speech because it belongs to individuals, not institutions. When an athlete speaks, the public can disagree sharply without trying to muzzle them. That’s the adult standard the country claims to want.

Gus Kenworthy’s Protest Shows How Fast Messaging Can Get Crude—and Effective

Gus Kenworthy, now competing for the U.K. as a dual citizen, poured gasoline on the story with a social-media protest that included a crude visual message written in snow and a script urging people to call their representatives about ICE funding. The method offended plenty of people who might otherwise listen. Yet the tactic achieved what modern activism prizes: instant distribution, maximum attention, and a news hook no editor can ignore.

Kenworthy’s approach highlights the difference between persuading and performing. Persuasion requires facts, humility, and a willingness to meet opponents halfway. Performance aims for virality and pressure. Older Americans have seen both in every era, but social media turns performance into a career skill. The danger for the Olympic stage is obvious: a movement can win headlines while losing the public, and the athletes become symbols instead of competitors.

The IOC and USOPC Bet on a Narrow Lane: Expression Off the Field, Focus on the Field

Olympic officials tried to keep the lane narrow. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, led by Sarah Hirschland, prepared athletes for uncertain crowd reactions while projecting confidence that competition itself would stay stable. The International Olympic Committee’s posture signaled no appetite for punishing social-media expression under current guidelines. That framework amounts to a compromise: athletes can talk, the Games keep moving, and organizers avoid becoming referees of ideology.

That compromise may hold, but it doesn’t erase consequences. Sponsors weigh association risk. Teammates absorb distraction. Foreign crowds turn individual athletes into stand-ins for U.S. policy. Still, the alternative—tight restrictions—invites hypocrisy and selective enforcement. Americans who care about ordered liberty should prefer clear rules and equal treatment, not ad hoc crackdowns triggered by whichever message embarrasses powerful people in a given week.

What This Moment Means for the Future of Winter Sports—and for America’s Image

Winter sports rarely sit at the center of political activism, which made these comments feel more disruptive than familiar. Lillis and Hess sounded like citizens first and athletes second, trying to separate love of country from trust in leadership. If that becomes normal, the Olympics won’t get “less political.” They’ll get more honest about what’s already true: nations send athletes, but athletes bring consciences, and consciences don’t check in at passport control.

Some Team USA athletes speak out about politics at home https://t.co/DyQDBjFm91

— Global News Report (@robinsnewswire) February 7, 2026

Limited public detail exists in the available research about the Minneapolis deaths beyond names and the broad claim of fatal shootings tied to protests, so readers should treat the most severe allegations with caution until full documentation is widely available. The broader dynamic, however, is already clear: the world watches U.S. domestic enforcement practices, and Americans abroad feel the heat. Milano-Cortina exposed that tension before the first medals even mattered.