Olympic skier who wrote 'F**k ICE' in snow now says he is victim of 'hate and vitriol'

2 hours ago 1

Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy is shocked by the amount of backlash he is receiving.

Kenworthy, a silver medalist for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, made a post last week showing his followers how to contact the Senate in order to complain about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

'Maybe that's the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform.'

Kenworthy provided a sample script that his followers could use, which included, "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."

The hyperbolic narrative was just one part of Kenworthy's post, however, as the attached photo read, "F**k ICE," written in the snow. While it is not clear how it was written, or if it was a digital edit, the positioning of skis around the yellow text implied that it was made with urine.

On Monday, Kenworthy made a follow-up video explaining that while he now competes for Great Britain — stating he does so to honor his mother — he is still half American and loves the United States.

"I care about the U.S., and I care about what's happening there," the 34-year-old stated.

What followed, though, was the skier saying that the intense backlash he has faced from the post was likely a product of him "speaking up."

"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. Like, it's insane," he continued. "And maybe that's the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform. And so maybe this video is just going to invite more hate and vitriol, but I think it's important to say what we feel and stand up for what we believe in and stand up to injustice."

At the same time, the Olympian said that everyone has the freedom to "love the U.S. and be proud to be an American" while still thinking "it can be better" and "improve."

Without ever mentioning the nature of his anti-ICE photo, Kenworthy went on to say that he does not support ICE and believes the agency is "absolutely evil and awful and terrifying."

This was followed by a bevy of claims, such as American citizens "have been murdered in the street, executed in the street, and the officers are essentially acting with, like, impunity because their identities are covered."

"There's no accountability. It's really scary," he continued, claiming ICE is "racially profiling people, rounding up black and brown folks, and kidnapping them, putting them in unmarked vehicles with no arrest warrant, no probable cause."

Kenworthy added, "They're being held without any sort of due process. It's crazy. It's scary."

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

The skier, born in Essex, England, concluded that the "majority" of those being apprehended by the federal agency are "good" and "hardworking people" who are "nonviolent and have no criminal history and just came to the U.S. seeking a better life."

Kenworthy described this as "literally the foundation story of the U.S."

The British-American will compete in the Men's Freeski Halfpipe qualification at the Winter Olympics on February 19, which begins at 4:30 a.m. ET.

The finals will air February 20 at 1:30 p.m. ET.

This is the same event as Hunter Hess, the American skier who recently walked back his comments regarding disagreements he has with U.S. policy. Hess said that "it's a little hard" to be representing the United States and that he had "mixed emotions" about it.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Read Entire Article