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Since the beginning of Donald Trump's crusade against immigration in Minnesota and the controversial raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), American athletes are frequently asked their opinion on the matter. One of the first to speak out and say he was "horrified" was NBA player Victor Wembanyama, star of the San Antonio Spurs. And he did so against the recommendation of the franchise.
Since the Olympic Games began, all US athletes have had to 'get wet' in front of the international media. Some were more lukewarm like Mikaela Shiffrin when mentioning Mandela's words and others more direct, such as freestyle skier Hunter Hess, whose words unleashed the ire of Donald Trump, who called him a "real loser".
Gauff speaks clearly
This time it was tennis player Coco Gauff who had to give her opinion on the situation in her country. "Obviously, I'm not in favor of everything that's going on in the United States. I don't think people should be dying in the streets just for existing. I don't like what's going on," Gauff said in Dubai on Sunday, referring to ICE and the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota.
I'm not in favor of everything that's going on in the United States
"I'm very proud to be American," she said, "but I think that regardless of your country, you don't have to represent all the values of the leaders. I think there are a lot of people who believe in the same things I do, and in diversity and equality. So hopefully, as the future goes on, we can get those values back," she added.
I'm very proud to be an American, but you don't have to represent all the values of the leaders
Anti-racism activist
Gauff became aleading voice in the fight against racism in the United States after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. At 16 years of age and still unable to vote, the then tennis prodigy gave a speech to her neighbors in Delray Beach, Florida, where she lived. "I'm sad that I have to protest for what my grandmother did 50 years ago. If you choose silence, you choose the side of the oppressor," she said then.