Hess, who essentially went underground after the controversy erupted, spoke after halfpipe qualifying on Friday. He qualified in fifth place and will be one of four Americans in the 12-person final.
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“I worked very hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen,” Hess said. “I’m not going to let a controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I can’t say that enough. In my original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m very happy to be here, very happy to represent Team USA and ride as much as I can.”
(David Davies – PA Images via Getty Images)
Hess was one of several American athletes who were asked before the Opening Ceremony how they felt representing the United States, given the current domestic political climate and the ICE raids in Minneapolis and violent clashes with protesters that dominated news coverage at the time.
Hess acknowledged “mixed emotions” and said there were “obviously a lot of things going on that I’m not a big fan of” and talked about representing his values and the things he believes in when he wears the Team USA uniform.
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“Just because I carry the flag doesn’t mean it represents everything that’s happening in America,” he said.
Although Hess was not the only American athlete to make comments along these lines, his formulation inflamed certain sectors of social media and cable news commentators. Hess acknowledged the reaction in an Instagram post, but had not spoken to reporters until Friday about what it’s like to have the president come after you as you prepare to compete in the Olympics.
After becoming much more famous than he expected, Hess and some members of the halfpipe team went to train in Switzerland.
“It was pretty upsetting,” he said. “I had a week that was pretty challenging. Fortunately, my family was there to support me and help me get through it. There was a lot of noise and I’ve never been the subject of that kind of criticism. But with the help of my family, I was able to get through it. And skiing has saved my life, time and time again, and it seems to have done it again.”
When asked if he would have made the same comments in retrospect, Hess said, “I agree with what I said. I love the United States of America. I can’t reiterate that enough.”