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Another U.S. Winter Olympian astatine the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is speaking retired against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, specifically those carried retired successful Minnesota.
American curler Rich Ruohonen took clip during a property league to bespeak connected what’s occurred successful Minneapolis recently, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by national agents.
Ruohonen, a idiosyncratic wounded lawyer successful Bloomington, Minnesota, said "what’s happening successful Minnesota is incorrect — there’s nary shades of grey."
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"First of all, I’d similar to accidental I’m arrogant to beryllium present to correspond Team USA, and to correspond our country," Ruohonen began his statement. "But we’d beryllium remiss if we didn’t notation what’s going connected successful Minnesota, and what a pugnacious clip it’s been for everybody. This worldly is happening close astir wherever we live.
"I americium a lawyer arsenic you know, and we person a Constitution, and it allows america state of the press, state of speech, protects america from unreasonable searches and seizures, and makes it that we person to person probable origin to beryllium pulled over. What’s happening successful Minnesota is incorrect — there’s nary shades of grey. It’s clear."
Ruohonen has represented the United States astatine 2 satellite curling championships successful 2008 and 2018, but this is his archetypal clip successful the Olympics aft unsuccessful proceedings runs successful the past. He is acceptable to go the oldest American ever to enactment successful the Winter Games.
During his statement, helium made definite to constituent retired that galore of his teammates — six retired of 11 to beryllium nonstop — are from Minnesota.
AMERICAN OLYMPIC SKIER HUNTER HESS ‘CANNOT WAIT TO REPRESENT TEAM USA’ AFTER TRUMP BACKLASH
"I truly emotion what’s been happening determination present with radical coming out, showing the love, the compassion, integrity and respect for others that they don’t cognize and helping them out," helium continued. "We emotion Minnesota for that. And I privation to marque it wide that we’re retired here, we emotion our country. We’re playing for the U.S., we’re playing for Team USA, and we’re playing for each other, and we’re playing for our friends and household that’s sacrificed truthful overmuch to get present today.
"That doesn’t alteration thing due to the fact that what the Olympics means is excellence, respect, friendship. And we all, I think, exemplify that. We are playing for the radical of Minnesota and the radical astir the state who stock those aforesaid values."
Ruohonen isn’t the archetypal U.S. typical to talk their caput astir what’s happening backmost home, arsenic skier Hunter Hess caught flak for the "mixed emotions" helium said helium had astir representing the country.
He drew backlash from President Donald Trump and others aft making archetypal comments to reporters past week.
"It brings up mixed emotions to correspond the U.S. close now, I think. It’s a small hard. There’s evidently a batch going connected that I’m not the biggest instrumentality of, and I deliberation a batch of radical aren’t," Hess said.
"I think, for me, it’s much I’m representing my friends and household backmost home, the radical that represented it earlier me, each the things that I judge are bully astir the U.S. If it aligns with my motivation values, I consciousness similar I’m representing it. Just due to the fact that I’m wearing the emblem doesn't mean I correspond everything that’s going connected successful the U.S.
Hess made wide days aboriginal what it means to correspond the state successful the Olympics.
"I emotion my country," helium wrote with an American emblem emoji. "There is truthful overmuch that is large astir America, but determination are ever things that could beryllium better.
"One of the galore things that makes this state truthful astonishing is that we person the close and the state to constituent that out. The champion portion of the Olympics is that it brings radical together, and erstwhile truthful galore of america are divided we request that much than ever. I cannot hold to correspond Team USA adjacent week erstwhile I compete."
Team USA curling has already exceeded their expectations for the Games, arsenic Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin pulled disconnected an upset of Italy, the reigning Olympic champions successful squad mixed doubles, connected Monday.
While the U.S. radical fell to Sweden successful the golden medal game, 6-5, they came distant with silver, marking the seventh medal for the U.S.
There is much curling up this week, with the U.S. acceptable to look Czechia successful the men’s round-robin league connected Wednesday, followed by the women’s archetypal league against South Korea connected Thursday.
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