Olympic Veteran Denounces Politicians for ‘Vitriol’ at Games

2018 Winter Olympian and Turning Point USA contributor Anthony Watson blasted sports podcaster Sarah Spain’s remarks about Vice President JD Vance on Monday, stating that the Olympics must remain a refuge from political vitriol.

Watson reacted to Spain’s comments on her podcast where she described seeing Vance at the Winter Games as making her “literally feel ill” and compared him to “a demon.”

“Surprised? No,” Watson said. “I don’t really like things like that because this is one thing I will tell people about the Olympic Games: When the Olympics are on — Summer or Winter — from a bird’s-eye view, the world for two weeks during the Games is at peace. Everyone is cheering for their country and watching the sports.”

The Olympian, who competed in skeleton bobsled for Jamaica, emphasized that the unifying power of athletics makes such rhetoric misplaced.

“That’s the beauty of sports,” he said. “It was supposed to take you out of politics.”

Drawing on his Olympic experience, Watson recalled a moment from the 2018 Winter Games when then-Vice President Mike Pence attended alongside the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“They were sitting about five feet apart and didn’t look at each other,” he said. “And so, everyone was now trying to make a whole big spew of like, ‘Oh, they’re sitting close to each other, but they won’t do anything. Is there anything really to be at peace for?’”

For Watson, that reaction — much like Spain’s comments — misses the point of international competition.

“So, when I hear people like this,” he added, “these are people with no connection to sports who don’t know what it’s like to discipline themselves past giving public opinion that people really don’t even care about.”

He also criticized what he described as a growing culture of viral outrage in sports media.

“Because how many more podcasts will we have to listen to where people have these kinds of things, where they’re having personal tantrums just on the airwaves for people to listen to?” Watson asked.