Former NFL quarterback and sports commentator Boomer Esiason expressed strong views on U.S. Olympic athletes voicing political concerns during the Winter Games. In short, he’s not a fan.
The former league MVP and Super Bowl quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals urged athletes to “pipe down” and prioritize their athletic duties while representing the United States.
“They seem to be happy to represent America,” Esiason said of the vast majority of American athletes during a segment on WFAN. “Not everybody is.”
“But everybody should just pipe down and just do their sport and play for our country and respect the flag and respect everything that’s going on.”
Seems like pretty solid advice. You want to talk politics, do so to your heart’s content during your personal time. When you’re on the Olympic stage, shut up and play your little reindeer games.
"Everybody should just pipe down and just do their sport and play for our country and respect the flag and respect everything that’s going on." – Boomer Esiason on the Olympics pic.twitter.com/LCbbnhCtd9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 10, 2026
Boomer Esiason Urges Olympic Athletes to Respect the Flag Amid Controversy
Esiason’s comments come as a handful of athletes seem to want to distance themselves from the nation that hosts their Olympic dreams, provides them with world-class training facilities, and makes their ability to become star athletes unparalleled.
No other country can do what America does for its athletes.
And yet, you have people like Chris Lillis, a freestyle skier and gold medalist from the 2022 Beijing Games, who admitted to feeling “heartbroken” over events in the U.S. Apparently, cracking down on crime is a bad thing.
“A lot of times, athletes are hesitant to talk about political views and how we feel about things. I feel heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States,” he said, adding, “I think that as a country, we need to focus on respecting everybody’s rights and making sure that we’re treating our citizens as well as anybody, with love and respect.”
Fellow freestyle skier Hunter Hess followed suit, saying, “Just because I wear the flag, it doesn’t mean I represent everything that is going on in the U.S.”
Okay Schussboomer.
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Hess ever-so-slightly backtracked on his comments. In an Instagram post, he reaffirmed his excitement to represent Team USA, while noting his right to voice his opinion.
“I love my country,” he wrote on social media. “There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out.”
“The best part of the Olympics is that it brings people together, and when so many of us are divided, we need that more than ever,” he added. “I cannot wait to represent Team USA next week when I compete.”
Boomer Esiason has expressed his own political views, criticizing former President Joe Biden during his failed administration for swapping WNBA star Brittney Griner for a known arms dealer.
“Like I said, I’m happy for her. She never belonged over there. She never belonged in jail. She was put in a Russian penal colony, and it was harsh, and it should have never happened. Now our government decides that an arms dealer for a WNBA center is equal in terms of the swap,” he said.
“The fact that it happens after the election, it’s obvious what’s going on. It’s another check against the way this country is being run in my eyes,” Esaison lamented.
Griner was arrested in Russia in February 2022 on drug charges for possessing cannabis oil. She was sentenced to 9 years in prison after pleading guilty, claiming it was an accident. It was a ridiculous ploy by Russia to see if Biden would be dumb enough to trade her for a much more heinous individual.
Griner was released in December 2022 as part of a prisoner swap in which the U.S. exchanged her for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.