Washington (United States) (AFP) – Team USA figure skater Amber Glenn has said she will not visit Donald Trump’s White House to celebrate winning gold at the Winter Olympics. Glenn, who won team gold at the Milan-Cortina Games last month, identifies as pansexual and bisexual, and has been an outspoken critic of the Republican president.
Last week, the US women’s ice hockey team declined to attend Trump’s State of the Union speech. “I’m electing not to either, so I do not blame them whatsoever,” said Glenn, at an event organized by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD in Los Angeles on Thursday night. “It is our right to be able to choose what we do and don’t endorse, and I think it is a decision that each individual has the right to make,” she told Us Weekly.
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The White House did not immediately respond to comment on whether Glenn and her fellow skaters had been invited. Trump triggered controversy last month by inviting the gold medal-winning men’s ice hockey team to the White House and joking that he would “have to” invite the victorious women’s team too. While many of the men attended, the women’s side later declined an invitation, citing prior commitments.
Glenn is the reigning and three-time US figure skating champion. As well as earning team gold, she finished fifth in the Olympic women’s singles figure skating, which was won by her fellow American Alysa Liu. At the Games, Glenn told reporters it had been “a hard time for the (queer) community overall in this administration.” She also took issue with those who questioned the legitimacy of athletes voicing their opinions.
“I know that a lot of people say you’re just an athlete, like, stick to your job, shut up about politics, but politics affect us all,” said Glenn. The comments helped to make her a lightning rod for criticism from conservative voices and supporters of Trump on social media. Glenn told Us Weekly on Thursday that she had received backlash, but “the amount of support and encouragement that I’ve received outweighs the hate immensely.”
“I know how much more important it is to have this visibility to young athletes than it is to these people that are being crabby and are hateful of empathy and kindness. What they have to say doesn’t matter,” she said.
© 2024 AFP
