Winter Olympics 2026: ‘Miracle on Ice’ captain Mike Eruzione rebukes skier Hunter Hess for comments on representing U.S.
Remarks made by American freestyle skier Hunter Hess regarding “mixed emotions” about representing the United States in the 2026 Winter Olympics have drawn criticism from some fans and observers.
Perhaps the most famous and outspoken among them is legendary 1980 U.S. ice hockey gold medalist Mike Eruzione, who posted a response to Hess on social media.
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During a news conference with the U.S. freeski team in Milan on Friday, Hess, 27, said he felt conflicted because “a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t.”
“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think,” Hess said, via Portland, Oregon’s KGW8. “It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t.”
“For me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.,” he added. “I 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.”
Those comments raised the ire of Eruzione, a captain on the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” gold medal team who scored the game-winning goal versus the Soviet Union in the medal round. He has previously shown support for Donald Trump, but in responding to Hess, he didn’t mention the president. He stated that the skier shouldn’t wear a uniform representing the U.S. if he’d prefer to represent friends and family instead.
“Hunter Hess US snowboarder saying he doesn’t represent his country but his family and friends,” Eruzione posted. “Then don’t put on the USA uniform maybe just put for family and friend some athletes just don’t get it.”
Eruzione was criticized for appearing at a Trump rally in 2020 with his U.S. hockey teammates and wearing a hat that said “Keep America Great.”
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In response to the backlash received for his appearance, Eruzione expressed regret for wearing the hat.
“If we knew we were going to piss off this many people, we probably would not have put the hats on,” Eruzione, 65, told the Washington Post. “That’s the big question here. A lot of the stuff I got was, ‘You guys said it’s not political, but when you put the hats on, you made it political.’ ”
Presumably, Hess’ remarks “made it political” in Eruzione’s view. Yet he’s not the only U.S. athlete who has voiced ambivalent sentiments toward what’s currently happening. Freestyle aerialist Chris Lillis said he wouldn’t want to represent any other country, but is “heartbroken” over current events.
“I feel heartbroken about what’s happened in the United States,” Lillis said, via the Washington Post. “I think that, as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody with love and respect. I hope that when people look at athletes competing in the Olympics, they realize that’s the America that we’re trying to represent.”
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