#hunter hess

Daniel Villarreal (he/him) at LGBTQ Nation:

Islamophobic Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo said that U.S. Olympic athletes who criticize the lethal and illegal actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are committing “borderline treason.” Arroyo also criticized out gay Olympian Gus Kenworthy for using his platform to criticize ICE. While speaking on Fox News, anti-LGBTQ+ Fox News host Laura Ingraham first mentioned Olympic skier Hunter Hess. Hess said on February 6, “It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now… There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren’t.” [...] After Trump’s comment, Hess clarified in a January 9 Instagram post, “I love my country. There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better…. I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete.” When Ingraham mentioned Hess, Arroyo said of Hess’ comments, “Laura, this is borderline treason,” Media Matters reported. Arroyo then complained that U.S. Olympians aren’t publicly commenting on recent government oppression of free speech activists in Hong Kong and Iran.

“But we never hear that,” Arroyo said. “They’re competing with each other to get clicks and to make political statements. One guy peed in the ice, Laura. He said you know, ‘F ICE.’ Look at this! This is an Olympic skier. It’s ridiculous.” Arroyo was alluding to Gus Kenworthy, a freestyle skier with dual U.S./U.K. citizenship who posted a February 4 Instagram image that seemingly showed urine used to write “F**k ICE” in snow.

[...] “And he says, ‘Well, I’m just using my platform.’ No, you’re using the U.K.’s platform, who you’re supposed to be representing in a game and you’re using it to make stupid political statements and vile ones at that,” Arroyo added.

Parker Molloy at The Present Age:

On Sunday, Amber Glenn won an Olympic gold medal in the team figure skating event. She wore an LGBTQ+ pin on her team jacket at the medal ceremony. That same day, she announced she was stepping back from social media after receiving what she described as “a scary amount of hate/threats.” Her offense: she’d told reporters a few days earlier that the queer community is going through “a hard time” under the current administration. “I hope that I can use my platform and my voice throughout these Games to try to encourage people to stay strong,” she said. Megyn Kelly had already quote-tweeted a clip of Glenn’s comments and written: “Another turncoat to root against.” Glenn hadn’t even skated yet.

“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking about being decent,” Glenn said Sunday night. Also on Friday, at a Team USA freeski press conference, a reporter asked the athletes how it feels to represent the country given what’s happening back home. Hunter Hess, a 27-year-old freestyle skier from Bend, Oregon, said this: “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.” He said he sees himself as representing his friends and family, the athletes who came before him, and the things he believes are good about the country. “Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.”

By Sunday morning, the president of the United States had posted about him on Truth Social. “U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” Trump wrote. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” [...]

What these athletes are saying is all pretty tame

In December 2017, Lindsey Vonn told CNN she would “absolutely not” visit the Trump White House and said she hoped “to represent the people of the United States, not the president.” She said she didn’t think many people in the current government represent the country well. That was her whole statement. People told her they hoped she’d break her neck. When she hurt her back in a World Cup race a few days later, Fox News ran a story tying the injury to her Trump comments, as if it were divine retribution. “There’s, of course, going to be people that hate me and hope I ski off a cliff and die,” Vonn said at the Olympics a few months later. She was trying to laugh it off. She shouldn’t have had to.

In June 2019, Megan Rapinoe sat for an interview mid-World Cup and said, with a scoff, “I’m not going to the fucking White House.” Trump responded: “Megan should WIN first before she TALKS! Finish the job!” and “Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag.” Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka said on his radio show that the team “wants to destroy everything that is wholesome in our country and in our Judeo-Christian civilization.” The president attacking a mid-tournament athlete was absurd. Gorka claiming the women’s soccer team threatened Western civilization was unhinged. But Rapinoe was doing something deliberately provocative and she knew it. She scored two goals against France after Trump’s tweets and won the tournament. It was confrontational by design. And she came out on top.

In 2021, hammer thrower Gwen Berry turned away from the American flag on the podium at the Olympic trials while the anthem played, then draped a shirt reading “Activist Athlete” over her head. Dan Crenshaw went on Fox & Friends and said she should be removed from the team. Ted Cruz tweeted: “Why does the Left hate America?” Lara Trump said she hoped Berry wouldn’t make it to the podium at the actual Olympics. Calling for a woman’s removal from her own Olympic team because she turned away from a flag was extreme. But Berry had done a specific, public, intentional thing. There was an act to point to.

[...] “Shut up and play” was always the demand. But it used to mean: don’t protest, don’t kneel, don’t turn your back on the flag. Now it means: don’t answer the question. Don’t have feelings. Don’t be anything other than grateful. Shut up and salute. Shiffrin brought prepared notes. Glenn left social media on the day she won gold. Vonn joked about keeping her passport. The chill is real.