Gus Kenworthy might have broken his thumb, but there’s an upside to the injury, according to the freestyle skier.
The 2014 Sochi silver medalist isn’t unduly concerned over his ability to compete in the men’s slopestyle this weekend, though vice presidential handshakes are off the table.
“Broke my thumb yesterday in practice. It won’t stop me from competing (obvi) but it does prevent me from shaking Pence’s hand so … Silver linings!” tweeted Kenworthy, who accompanied his social media post with an X-ray image and a picture of his right hand in a brace.
This isn’t the first time Kenworthy, who is gay, has been critical of Vice President Mike Pence.
At the start of the PyeongChang games, the skier took to Instagram to tell Pence what he thought of his position on gay rights.
“I feel incredibly honored to be here in Korea competing for the US and I’m so proud to be representing the LGBTQ community alongside this amazing guy! Eat your heart out, Pence.” Kenworthy wrote in a caption on an Instagram photo with figure skater Adam Rippon.
The back and forth between the vice president’s office and the first two openly gay Team USA winter Olympians began when Pence was chosen to lead the official US delegation to the Opening Ceremony.
Kenworthy and Rippon’s open contempt for Pence’s role as delegation leader stems over his record on same-sex marriage and LGBT issues.
As governor of Indiana, Pence signed the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which allowed business to turn away gay and lesbian customers in the name of religious freedom.
Both Rippon and Kenworthy said they would skip visiting the White House when President Donald Trump invites Team USA after the Olympics.
