00:00Hi, I'm just trying to make a video before I go to bed to get my thoughts out.
00:07And also, I just wanted to explain that I'm competing for Great Britain at this Olympics.
00:14And I did at the last Olympics to honor my mom because she's British.
00:19I'm half British. I was born in England.
00:22But I'm also half American. I grew up in the U.S. and that's where I went to school.
00:28I did my first two Olympics for the U.S. and won a silver medal for the U.S.
00:33That's where I live now. So I care about the U.S. and I care about what's happening there.
00:41And I'm saying all this because the other day I posted a photo with my thoughts on ice.
00:48And that photo has since gone everywhere. It's been shared all over the place.
00:55And I've gotten a ton of messages.
00:59And most of them, honestly, have been supportive and encouraging people, thanking me for speaking up and using my platform.
01:06But a lot of the messages have been awful.
01:11People telling me to kill myself, threatening me, wishing that they'll get to see me blow my knee or break my neck during my event, calling me slurs like it's insane.
01:25And maybe that's the price you pay for speaking up and using your platform.
01:33And so maybe this video is just going to invite more hate and vitriol.
01:37But I think it's important to say what we feel and stand up for what we believe in and stand up to injustice.
01:46And I've been really proud seeing other athletes doing that.
01:50Hunter Hess, Michaela Schifrin. I think it's inspiring and it's important.
01:54And I also think that there's a lot of nuance to it.
02:00And I feel like sometimes people forget that.
02:03So I just want to remind everyone that, like, you can love the U.S. and be proud to be an American.
02:10I am and still think it can be better and still think that the country can improve.
02:18And just because you love the U.S. doesn't mean you stand with this administration and stand behind their policies and their legislation and support the things that they support.
02:28Because I don't and I do not support ICE and I think it's absolutely evil and awful and terrifying.
02:37There have been U.S. citizens that have been murdered in the street, executed in the street.
02:43And the officers are essentially acting with like impunity because their identities are covered.
02:49There's no accountability. It's really scary.
02:51They're racially profiling people, rounding up black and brown folks and kidnapping them, putting them in unmarked vehicles with no arrest warrant, no probable cause.
03:01They're being held without any sort of due process.
03:07It's it's crazy. It's scary.
03:11And people are being sent to countries that they're not even from.
03:13And U.S. citizens are being caught in this.
03:16And I think overwhelmingly the majority of the people being targeted are good people, hardworking people that are nonviolent and have no criminal history and just came to the U.S. seeking a better life.
03:31And that is literally the foundation story of the U.S.
03:35We are a country of immigrants and that's the American dream.
03:40And I think people forget that sometimes.
Comments