MILAN — The Winter Olympics open Friday in Italy, thousands of miles from Minneapolis, where controversy has swirled over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement after two U.S. citizens were shot by federal agents in January.
Some American competitors, including several from Minnesota, have used the lead-up to the Games to speak out. Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, a three-time Olympic medalist from Afton, Minn., posted on Instagram that she wants people to know who she is racing for at the Olympics. “I’m racing for an American people who stand for love, for acceptance, for compassion, honesty and respect for others. I do not stand for hate or violence or discrimination,” Diggins wrote alongside a photo of herself with an American flag from the 2022 Beijing Games. Diggins, 34, is expected to compete in six events in Milan and is a medal contender in several.
The day after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed by Customs and Border Protection agents on a Minneapolis street, Team USA hockey player Kelly Pannek, of Plymouth, Minn., interrupted a postgame press conference to call the enforcement “unnecessary and just horrifying.” Her Minnesota Frost teammate and fellow Team USA member Taylor Heise, also from Minnesota, nodded in agreement.
Other U.S. Winter Olympians have also weighed in. Snowboarders Stacy Gaskill of Denver and Bea Kim of Palos Verdes, Calif., posted messages about unity and diversity, with 19-year-old Kim writing that the Olympics represent global unity and that diversity is woven into the fabric of the country.
Prominent athletes beyond the Winter Games have joined the chorus. Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, a member of Team USA’s 2024 Olympic team, called Pretti’s death a murder on social media. Three-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart held an “Abolish ICE” sign at a recent Unrivaled 3-on-3 game and said when human lives are at stake, it’s bigger than sports.
In Milan, a hospitality space for Team USA’s friends and family was renamed over the weekend to remove the word “ice.” U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and U.S. Speed Skating said the newly named “Winter House” better reflects the space’s purpose as a private hospitality area for athletes, families and friends to celebrate the Winter Games without distraction.