Posted in: Olympics, Opinion, Sports, TV, TV | Tagged: olympics, opinion, trump

Winter Olympics: Team USA's Anti-ICE Comments Anger MAGA Faithful

Team USA practiced its First Amendment rights ahead of the start of the Winter Olympics, and a lot of MAGA folks are mad - and Rob Schneider!

During a media event ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, American freestyle skiers Chris Lillis and Hunter Hess, the former a gold medalist and the latter a first-time Olympian, used their First Amendment rights to explain the personal difficulties that come with representing the United States at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in light of recent actions by the Trump Administration, on the national and global stage. Specifically, the actions Donald Trump and his folks have taken regarding immigration enforcement and the use of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Protests in Minneapolis continue over the shooting deaths of Rene Good and Alex Pretti by ICE and border patrol agents, and the lack of accountability in the aftermath.

"I love the USA. I would never want to represent a different country in the Olympics. With that being said, a lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things," Lillis shared. "I feel heartbroken about what's happening in the United States – I'm pretty sure you're referencing ICE and some of the protests and things like that. 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. I hope that when people look at athletes compete in the Olympics, they realize that that's the America we're trying to represent."

Hess added, "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 friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. – 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. I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here."

Well, it didn't take long for a whole bunch of Trumpers and MAGA folks to break out their social media pitchforks and flaming torches over what was said. They even lost the support of (we're assuming) world-renowned athlete Rob Schneider (dead-lifting Adam Sandler's luggage should be an Olympic sport), who posted, "Then TAKE OFF the FLAG…. And GIVE UP YOUR CITIZENSHIP as well! Actual American Heroes DIED for YOUR FREEDOMS, you MORON." After catching wind of another athlete being open and honest, Schneider added, "Are there ANY NON-WOKE athletes that are PROUD to REPRESENT the FREEST and GREATEST NATION on GOD's EARTH?!"

Of course, there's a whole lot of irony behind some folks who spend 24/7 pledging allegiance to Trump instead of the U.S. flag or Constitution suddenly feeling like they've got the right to clutch their pearls with any sense of righteous indignation about the Winter Olympics. Because whatever "unpatriotic" thing you think Lillis and Hess did with their statements, Trump has said and done worse ten times over. Spend less time with cheap, manufactured "outrage" over the comments of two Olympians and worry more about why Trump feels so comfortable posting racist things.

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