Rooting In opposition to Anti-American Olympians Is Patriotic

Getting the opportunity to represent one’s country in the Olympics is an incredible honor for any athlete. Sadly, some of this year’s American competitors don’t seem to fully appreciate that point.

Throughout the first week of the 2026 Winter Olympics, several U.S. athletes have happily taken the bait from left-wing “journalists” seeking to get these Americans to trash their nation — and President Trump — on the world stage. Many of the comments thus far have specifically been focused on ICE and its efforts to deport foreign nationals illegally residing in the United States.

Team USA skiers Hunter Hess and Chris Lillis kicked off the performative struggle session during a pre-Olympics press conference. The athletes effectively wagged their fingers at the ICE agents under relentless siege by violent leftist agitators and talked about how “hard” it is to watch federal law be enforced as they play games at an event surrounded by maximum security.

While Lillis displayed some level of decency by expressing his “love” for America, Hess took his criticisms a step further by claiming he has “mixed emotions” about representing his home country at the Olympics.

“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,” Hess said. “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.”

Hess later tried to minimize his anti-American remarks in an Instagram post, writing, “I cannot wait to represent Team USA. …” The skiers were hardly the only American competitors to espouse anti-ICE and other leftist nonsense at this year’s Olympics.

[READ: Eileen Gu Is The Poster Child For The Post-Nationalist Olympics]

Everyone is entitled to have his own views — no matter how ill-informed he may be — and no one is required to agree with every action their government takes.

But there’s a certain level of repulsiveness that comes with bashing one’s own country while on foreign soil in front of the entire world. That’s especially true for athletes who are being given the opportunity of a lifetime that is rarely afforded to others.

Contrast Hess’s groveling stupidity with the unbridled enthusiasm of Team USA wrestler Tamyra Mensah-Stock just a few short years ago at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Wrapped in an American flag after her gold medal win, the young woman could barely contain her emotions as she expressed love for her country.

“I love representing the U.S. I freakin’ love living there. I love it. And I’m so happy I get to represent USA!” Mensah-Stock said.

Notice the difference?

Whereas Mensah-Stock’s patriotism is rooted in her love of nation and gratitude for being able to compete on behalf of her fellow countrymen, athletes like Hess base their “patriotism” on who’s running America at any given moment and whether those leaders are enacting policies that align with their “moral values” (that is, their left-wing politics).

Allowing one’s love for America and its greatness to be dictated by its political leadership and government actions is flat out unpatriotic. One can disagree with the decisions of its leaders and still recognize the United States as the greatest country in the world, with an incredibly rich heritage and people.

The simplest thing any Olympian can do when asked to comment on anything political is to say something as basic as, “I’m not going to get into that. But I’m grateful to be here and for the privilege to compete on behalf of my country.”

But for Hess and Co., their worldview demands the opposite. It requires them to separate themselves from “the bad guys” in charge to prove they’re one of “the good guys” and their devotion to the “cause.”

In many ways, the Olympics are morphing into the next iteration of the Grammys or Oscars. Once-revered events devoted to celebrating the arts and recognizing meritocracy that have become platforms leftists hijack to ram their miserable, anti-American ideology down people’s throats.

U.S. athletes who use the Olympics as an avenue to thumb their noses at their home country deserve nothing but scorn and defeat. Rooting against them is not only morally just; it’s the patriotic thing to do.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood