As the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles draw near, a growing number of American athletes are using their platforms to speak out on political issues back home - and facing a fierce backlash from both the former president and legions of online trolls.

The trend began at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where U.S. snowboarder Chloe Kim faced a torrent of online abuse after condemning former President Donald Trump's divisive rhetoric and policies. Now, with the Summer Games on the horizon, more Olympians are following suit, leveraging their global stages to address everything from racial injustice to LGBTQ+ rights.

A New Generation of Activist Athletes

What this really means is that a new generation of American athletes is no longer content to stay silent on political issues. Fueled by the racial reckoning of 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, young stars like basketball player LeBron James and sprinter Gwen Berry have become outspoken advocates for social change.

The bigger picture here is that these athletes are tapping into a broader cultural shift, where public figures across industries are using their platforms to address systemic inequities. As NPR reported, the pandemic and racial justice protests of 2020 galvanized many celebrities to get more politically engaged.

Backlash from Trump and Trolls

But this activism has also made these Olympians the targets of intense vitriol, both from the former president and his loyal online following. After Kim's comments, Trump lashed out on his social media platform, accusing her of being "ungrateful" and a "disgrace." And ABC News reported that many other athletes have faced a barrage of hateful messages and death threats from Trump supporters and far-right trolls.

The irony is that these Olympians are merely exercising the same free speech rights that the former president and his allies so fervently champion. But in Trump's eyes, it seems, patriotism means unquestioning loyalty - and any deviation from that is an unforgivable betrayal.

As the world's attention turns to LA28, it's clear that the collision of sports and politics is only going to intensify. The question is whether the Olympic spirit of unity and sportsmanship can prevail over the forces of division and hate.