MILAN — The Winter Olympics are set to open this Friday in Italy, some 4,600 miles away from Minneapolis, the epicenter of the uproar over the Trump administration's hardline immigration enforcement tactics.
As American athletes turn their attention to the Games here, some — including several from Minnesota, which is home to some of Team USA's biggest stars — have spoken out in the wake of the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in January.
"I want to make sure you know who I'm racing for when I get to the start line at the Olympics," wrote Jessie Diggins, the cross-country skiing star and three-time Olympic medalist, in a statement she posted to her Instagram on Saturday alongside a photo of herself celebrating with an American flag at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
"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," the post continued. Diggins, 34, grew up in Afton, Minn., less than an hour's drive from downtown Minneapolis. She is expected to compete in six cross-country events at the Olympics this month and could contend for a medal in all of them.
The day after 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was shot to death by Customs and Border Protection agents on a Minneapolis street, Team USA hockey player Kelly Pannek paused a post-game press conference for her professional team, the Minnesota Frost, to call the aggressive immigration enforcement "unnecessary and just horrifying."
"It's obviously really heavy," said Pannek, who is from the Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth, as her Frost teammate and fellow Team USA member Taylor Heise — another Minnesota native — nodded. "What I'm most proud to represent is the tens of thousands of people that show up on some of the coldest days of the year to stand and fight for what they believe in."
Other Olympians who are not from Minnesota, including snowboarders Stacy Gaskill of Denver and Bea Kim of Palos Verdes, Calif., have spoken out in advance of the Games. "The Olympics are more than just sport. They represent global unity and peace," wrote the 19-year-old Kim in a post on Sunday. "Diversity is what makes the United States so special. It is woven into the very fabric of our country."
The Winter Olympians join a vocal chorus of prominent athletes who have spoken up about the Trump administration's tactics in Minneapolis.
Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was part of Team USA's gold medal run at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, wrote that Pretti "was murdered," and the three-time Olympic gold medalist Breanna Stewart held a sign that read "Abolish ICE" at a game for the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled last week. "I think that when human lives are at stake, it's bigger than anything else," she said in a press conference afterward.
In Milan, a hospitality space for friends and family of Team USA athletes was renamed over the weekend to drop the word "ice" from the name.
In a statement, the three governing bodies who operate the newly-named "Winter House" said that the new name would better suit the intent of the space, which was originally called the "Ice House."
"Our hospitality concept was designed to be a private space free of distractions where athletes, their families, and friends can come together to celebrate the unique experience of the Winter Games," reads a statement released by U.S. Figure Skating, USA Hockey and US Speed Skating of the name change, which was first reported by USA Today. "This name captures that vision and connects to the season and the event."
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