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Snowboarder Chloe Kim is an Olympic gold medalist and one of the faces of the sport. But she, too, has been exposed to the unfortunate rise in racist words and acts perpetrated against Asian Americans.
Kim, 20, is first-generation Korean American. She revealed to Alyssa Roenigk she first began receiving discriminatory direct messages after winning her first medal at X Games Aspen at just 13 years old:
“People belittled my accomplishment because I was Asian,” Chloe Kim said, via Roenigk. “There were messages in my DMs telling me to go back to China and to stop taking medals away from the white American girls on the team. I was so proud of my accomplishment, but instead I was sobbing in bed next to my mom, asking her, ‘Why are people being so mean because I'm Asian?'”
The reigning halfpipe gold medalist explained to Roenigk those messages influenced her decision to stop speaking Korean with her parents in public settings.
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However, Chloe Kim revealed the anti-Asian sentiment has only grown more disheartening, especially since the start of COVID-19. She told Roenigk about being confronted in an elevator in her apartment and fearing for her safety.
There has been a very real rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the past 13 months. Other athletes, like Jeremy Lin, have spoken out against anti-Asian hate while sharing their own experiences.
Kim did the same, though she told ESPN she received messages grossly shaming her for apparent “silence” without having any idea of her experiences or what she had been through since she was a teenager.
