International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry this week addressed the possibility that American athletes may be booed during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games, which takes place on Friday.

Watch the press conference on YouTube.

Coventry was asked by a reporter: “It’s hard to escape the geopolitical backdrop, tensions with America, Milan Mayor calling ICE agents ‘a militia that kills.’ Would you see it as free speech or understand it if Americans were jeered in the opening ceremony or do you have a message for them to be respected?”

Coventry said she hoped the opening ceremony would be seen “by everyone as an opportunity to be respectful of each other.”

The Olympic village, where athletes are housed during the global sporting showcase, is the “biggest reminder of how we all should be,” she continued, noting how during a visit she saw athletes from around the world “just hanging out,” looking unconcerned with where people come from or their religion.

“It was a real opportunity to just put into perspective how we could all be,” she said. “And so, for me, I hope that the opening ceremony will do that and will be a reminder for everyone how we could be.”

The news that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff will be in attendance at the Games as part of the U.S. delegation, which is being led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sparked protests in Italy, given the backlash to their anti-immigration enforcement in the U.S.

ICE staff will work in diplomatic offices, though.