American freeskier Hunter Hess flashed an “L” hand signal after finishing his Olympic halfpipe qualifying run Friday, an apparent nod to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Olympian, who previously said he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Games.

Hess shaped his index finger and thumb to form the letter “L” and raised his hand to his forehead after finishing his run. 

“Apparently,” he explained, according to The Associated Press. “I’m a loser.”

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The remark was a reference to Trump’s earlier criticism of Hess, in which the president called him a “real loser” in a social media post following Hess’ controversial remarks about representing the United States at the Olympics under the current administration.

 “I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this happen,” Hess said Friday. “I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough. My original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA.”

Hess was among a group of U.S. freestyle skiers and other American athletes to address their thoughts on representing the U.S. at Milan Cortina. During a press conference before his events, Hess said he had “mixed emotions” about it.

Hunter Hess of the United States reacts while competing in the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final during the Toyota US Grand Prix 2025 at Copper Mountain on Dec. 20, 2025 in Copper Mountain, Colorado. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t,” he began. 

“I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.

“I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here.”

President Donald Trump responded to his remarks in a social media post at the time calling Hess a “real loser.” 

Hunter Hess, of the United States, executes a trick in the halfpipe finals during the World Cup U.S. Grand Prix freestyle skiing event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)

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“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” he wrote. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Hess said Friday that he stands by what he initially said, but added, “It means the absolute world to me to be able to represent Team USA here. I worked so, so hard to get here. I stick with what I said.”

Hess is one of four Americans that qualified for the 12-man halfpipe final on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Brett Favre believes there has been a change in the NFL’s engagement strategy.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer discussed the issue during an appearance on Tomi Lahren’s OutKick show earlier this week, in which Lahren said she felt the NFL changed its approach to the way it appeals to fans “somewhere around Colin Kaepernick.”

It was a sentiment that Favre agreed with.

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“I think there probably is some truth to that. Why that has changed, I really don’t know,” Favre said. “Because I think your general football audience is people like you and I. Maybe loves football, or maybe is a casual, fair-weather fan, but it is the biggest show in town. So you watch it, you know, you watch the halftime show and who sang the national anthem. You know, that’s been that way for a long time.

“But you’re right, you know, in the last maybe 10 years, maybe a little longer, there’s been a slight shift. For whatever reason, I have no idea, because you want to appeal to your true fans. And it doesn’t seem like that is the case anymore.”

Green Bay Packers quarterback (4) Brett Favre is interviewed after defeating the Detroit Lions. (Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY Sports )

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Conservative fans were turned off by the decision to have Bad Bunny perform during the Super Bowl halftime show — he was largely criticized for having almost his entire performance in Spanish.

President Donald Trump called it “one of the worst” halftime shows of all time.

“This ‘Show’ is just a ‘slap in the face’ to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History! There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD,” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after the show.

Bad Bunny performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

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The show was the fourth most-watched of all time, but NFL ratings continue to skyrocket. NFL games accounted for 92 of the top 100 most-watched telecasts throughout 2025.

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There are only four games left in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Games.

On Friday, the two semifinal matchups will determine which two nations face off for gold, and which will compete for bronze:

• No. 1 Canada vs. No. 4 Finland, 10:40 a.m. ET

• No. 2 USA vs. No. 3 Slovakia, 3:10 p.m. ET

The bronze medal game will be held Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET, while the gold medal game will be Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET.

Players from all 32 NHL teams are represented with at least one player among the final four clubs remaining. Team USA has the largest number of teams represented (18), while Finland has the most players from a single franchise (four from the Dallas Stars).

Read more: Biggest surprises of the tournament | Inside U.S. women’s win | Future is bright for women’s hockey

Follow along live for all the goals and top moments from both semifinals here.