Team GB Winter Olympic star Gus Kenworthy sends defiant message to ICE
Gus Kenworthy. (Getty)
Team GB’s Gus Kenworthy has sent a strong message to the US’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and encouraged his followers to speak out as well.
Kenworthy’s message follows increased scrutiny of ICE in the wake of two fatal shootings in January. A federal officer fatally shot Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, on 24 January. Renee Nicole Good, also 37, was shot on 7 January. Both shootings by federal immigration agents took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Posting on Instagram on Thursday (5 February) the 34-year-old shared an image of himself skiing. The camera is pointed at the ground, chiefly at the snow between his two skis where a message reads: “F*** ICE.” The message is written in a warm yellow colour and you know what they say about yellow snow…
In the caption, the Olympian shared a message followers could use to contact their Senators in a bid to curtail ICE’s powers.
“You can call your Senator at (202) 224-3121 to speak up against ICE and put pressure on them during the current DHS funding negotiations,” Kenworthy said.
He then put: “Here’s a sample script: Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. I’m calling to urge Senator [Name] to refuse to support any final Department of Homeland Security funding agreement that fails to meaningfully rein in ICE and Border Patrol.”
The US Congress has until 13 February to agree a funding agreement that will affect the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats are demanding tighter rules on ICE including better coordination with local law enforcement and for ICE agents not to wear masks.
Kenworthy continued: “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. Senators still have leverage right now, and Senator [Name] must use it to demand real guardrails and accountability — including getting ICE and CBP out of our communities, ending blank-check funding for brutality, and establishing clear limits on warrantless arrests, profiling, and enforcement at sensitive locations like schools and hospitals.”
It closes: “Please pass this message along to the Senator. Thank you.”
The image together with the script act as a defiant message following weeks of increased anger as a result of ICE’s seemingly unpunished terror in US streets.
Calls against ICE were particularly vocal during last weekend’s Grammys when multiple winners called out ICE in speeches. Chief among them was Song of the Year winner Billie Eilish, who has earned a fair amount of backlash for her comments.
Kenworthy is representing Team GB at his fourth Winter Olympics in Italy. He won silver at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014 and also competed in PyeongChang in 2018, both for the US. He took part in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing for Team GB.
Some critics have called Kenworthy a “traitor” for joining Team GB.
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