Team GB skier Gus Kenworthy has recently been subject to extreme online abuse following his sharing of a post explicitly criticising the USA’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shortly before his arrival at the Winter Olympics. Kenworthy, born in Chelmsford, has lived in America for most of his life and has been vocally opposing political controversy and human rights violations for years. In 2022, he publicly questioned the decision to host the Winter Olympics in China due to their human rights record and treatment of the LGBTQ+ community, which he himself is part of.
In light of his clear moral conviction, it should come as no surprise that he spoke out on his Instagram (@guskenworthy) against ICE, who he says have been operating “with unchecked power” in the United States. The post included an image of him having urinated ‘fuck ICE’ in the snow while on a ski run. “Innocent people have been murdered, and enough is enough,” Kenworthy went on to write (in the caption this time, not the snow), and urged his followers to contact their senators and push for ICE power checks. In a later Instagram Reel, Kenworthy thanked his supporters but also revealed that “a lot of the messages have been awful, people telling me to kill myself, threatening me, wishing that they’ll get to see me blow my knee or break my neck during my event, calling me slurs…”
Despite the barrage of abusive messages he has received, he doubled down on his message, stating that: “I think it’s important to say what we feel and stand up for what we believe in and stand up to injustice.” Kenworthy went on to congratulate Team USA skiers Hunter Hess and Chris Lillis, who have also used their platforms to speak out about the actions of ICE and the political tensions brewing in the United States. Both athletes have expressed the complicated nature of wearing their country’s flag in a time of unrest and blatant abuse of power.
The International Olympic Committee has since confirmed that Kenworthy will not be punished for sharing his post despite the controversy it has caused and its violation of Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas.”
All of the athletes’ comments are especially poignant considering that ICE agents are part of the security detail deployed for Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha, who were booed loudly at the opening ceremony. Even before the games began, there were protests in Milan, calling for “ICE out.”
While there has been widespread sentiment online that sports and politics are and should remain separated, Kenworthy’s activism demonstrates the value of the opposite. ICE agents fatally shot Renée Good on January 7. Alex Pretti was murdered by US border patrol agents only two weeks later. What is occurring in the United States, right before our eyes, is a gross abuse of governmental authority. It is inevitable that Team USA athletes, and those living in America, feel the need to strike back at unchecked power and encourage others to do the same. It is, in fact, not only inevitable, but right and powerful.
The sports we watch matter. The teams we support matter. The flags we carry matter. Anyone who believes otherwise is complacent in the murder and abuse of innocents. I fully support Kenworthy, all the athletes, and public figures using their platforms for good. ICE has no place at the Winter Olympics. Neither are they welcome back home. The revolution may not be televised, but it will be pissed into the snow.
“Gus Kenworthy in 2019” by Adam Rippon is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.