Winter Olympics 2026: U.S. curler Rich Ruohonen speaks out against ICE presence in his home state: 'What's happening in Minnesota is wrong'

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On a day when Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse made U.S. curling history with an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles, U.S. curler Rich Ruohonen used the platform to turn the spotlight on his home state of Minnesota. 

Ruohonen, a St. Paul native, spoke in a news conference about the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence in his home state that's resulted in the shooting deaths of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by agents. 

Those killings and ICE's aggressive enforcement tactics on the streets of Minneapolis have prompted outrage and protest in Minnesota and beyond. Ruohonen, a lawyer, cited the U.S. Constitution to declare that "there's no shades of gray" that "what's happening in Minnesota is wrong."

'What's happening in Minnesota is wrong'

Ruohonen opened his statement by saying that he's "proud to be here to represent Team USA and to represent our country."

He then turned his attention to Minnesota. 

"This stuff is happening right around where we live," Ruohonen said. "I am a lawyer, as you know, and we have a constitution, and it allows us freedom of press, freedom of speech, protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures and makes it that we have to have probable cause to be pulled over. 

"And what's happening in Minnesota is wrong. There's no shades of gray. It's clear. I really love what's been happening there now – people coming out, showing the love, the compassion, integrity and respect for others that they don't know and helping them out. And we love Minnesota for that."

Ruohonen, 54, is a two-time national champion curler who's twice competed for Team USA in the curling world championships (2008, 2018). He's never competed in the Olympics. 

He's an alternate at the Milan Cortina Games for the men's curling team helmed by skip Danny Casper. He's not guaranteed to compete. But if he plays, he'll become the oldest U.S. athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics. 

He went on to speak about what it means to have the opportunity to compete in the Olympics.

“I want to make it clear that we are out here, we love our country," Ruohonen continued. "We're playing for the U.S., we're playing for Team USA, we're playing for each other, and we're playing for our family and our friends that sacrificed so much to get here today. ...

'What the Olympics means is excellence, respect, friendship, and we all, I think, exemplify that. And we are playing for the people of Minnesota and the people around the country who share those same values."