Unfortunately, part of the story of the 2026 Winter Olympics was the number of American athletes who decided to speak negatively about the United States rather than display pride for the country they had the privilege to represent on the global stage.

Here are the U.S. athletes whose political comments drew the most attention during the Games, and how they fared. Spoiler alert: not well.

What Hess said:"It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now… there's obviously a lot going on that I'm not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren't," the American skiersaid on February 6.

"I think for me, it's more I'm representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. I just think... If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I'm representing it. Just because I'm wearing the flag doesn't mean I represent everything that's going on in the U.S."

Hunter Hess faced backlash after criticizing the United States prior to competing for the Red, White and Blue during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Hess did not earn a medal during the Games.

For what it's worth, Hess backtracked slightly with an Instagram post three days after his initial comments.

"I love my country 🇺🇸," Hessposted on February 9. "There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out… I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete."

How Hess performed:10th in men’s freeski halfpipe (out of 11 qualifiers). Alex Ferreira, an American who doesn't appear to have criticized the United States during the Olympics,won gold in the event.

What Glenn said:"It's been a hard time for the (LGBTQ) community overall in this administration. It isn’t the first time that we've had to come together as a community and try and fight for our human rights. And now especially, it's not just affecting the queer community, but many other communities, and I think that we are able to support each other in a way that we didn't have to before, and because of that, it's made us a lot stronger."

Glenndid not elaborateon what she meant by "hard time for the LGBTQ community" or list any specific restrictions on that community under the Trump Administration that did not exist under previous administrations.

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