Olympic Skier sends a message to Trump Administration
By Brionna Gillis
A Winter Olympian urinated a message in the snow for the Trump administration as a form of protest against ICE.
Courtesy of BBC
Freestyle Olympic skier, Gus Kenworthy, streamed his protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement last week during the Olympic games seemingly peeing his message in the snow. “F*** ice,” the yellow message read in a photo Kenworthy shared on Instagram, per the Huffpost.
“It does seem distasteful. However, throughout history, to get attention, we know that you have to do something that makes people look, no matter the controversy, the message or the reason why is still discussed,” said Cloriesa Darded, a third-year international studies major, Spanish minor on the prelaw track. “So, although I do agree that it was gross, it did grab the attention of others, and that is what is needed. The fact that it was done by a public figure, an Olympic player, is even more important.”
Kenworthy appeared to confirm in another post that he actually urinated the words. Kenworthy, who won a silver medal for the United States in 2014 and is competing for Great Britain at the Milan Cortina Games, also included in his post a sample script for people to contact their senators and voice their objections to the Trump administration’s immigration policy. He ended with an impassioned plea.
“Innocent people have been murdered and enough is enough. We can’t wait around while ICE continues to operate with unchecked power in our communities,” wrote Kenworthy, per the Huffpost.
Kenworthy is not the only Olympic player to call out the Trump administration and the actions of ICE. Many other Olympic players at this year’s winter games have criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown, direct or otherwise.
Hunter Hess, another Olympic skier, also criticized the current administration. He admitted to having “mixed emotions representing the US right now” in the Winter Olympic Games. This seemed to rub President Trump the wrong way, as he called Hess a “real loser,” and said, “If that’s the case, then he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team…it’s very hard to root for someone like this.”
Like these Olympic athletes, students believe in the importance of famous people standing up for what they believe in.
“More people should be using their platforms, and that’s whether [they’re] an actor, an artist, or an Olympic player,” said Shalaina Rice, a third-year international studies major, political science, and Spanish minor.
