Former ESPN star Sarah Spain has revealed why she felt ill sitting close to US vice-president JD Vance at the USA women’s match with Czechia in the ice hockey at the Winter Olympics.
The vice-president was in attendance for the opening ceremony of the Games in Milan and Cortina and was heavily booed when he appeared on-screen waving an American flag.
The opening ceremony had already been slightly overshadowed by protests against America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement team (ICE).
Sarah Spain Did Not Want To See JD Vance At The Winter Olympics
JD Vance
Speaking after the opening ceremony, Vance played down the boos and said that he had a “great time at the Olympics”.
He said: “I think the media made much ado about nothing with the fact that, yes, in a crowd of 30,000 people, there were certainly some people who disagreed with my policies or the policies of the administration.”
Spain hosts the Good Game With Sarah Spain podcast, which is labelled as the ‘one-stop shop for the biggest stories in women’s sports’ and is in Italy to report on the Games, naturally being in attendance for that US women’s ice hockey clash too.
Speaking on her podcast, she admitted she felt ill seeing and sitting so close to Vance, even likening her experience to something out of ancient mythology or a Harry Potter book. She said:
“Twelve minutes into the first period, that area suddenly is awash with large men in suits with earpieces. And here comes JD Vance carrying a child and a bunch of security, and eventually Marco Rubio.
“When I see JD Vance’s eyeliner face, I literally feel ill, like a basilisk had looked you in the eye and death was awaiting you on the other side.
“And I don’t even believe in that, but my body felt like when you’ve been spooked and you have a little tingle that feels like, ‘ooh, something’s not right’. That’s what my body felt like. And I was in no way prepared to see him.”
The basilisk is a mythological creature understood to the serpent king, able to kill people just by making eye contact with its victims.
Trump Supporters Hit Out At Sarah Spain
US President Donald Trump
Spain has received quite the backlash for her comments from Donald Trump supporters, with some claiming she should be fired. She has addressed the comments in a post on her Instagram account, which you can see below.
She had posted a photo of Vance with his daughter at the ice hockey event, causing some outrage from supporters suggesting she should be fired for posting pictures of his children.
Spain ended the video by saying: “Let’s care more about people who are protecting those who rape kids and murer American citizens than the journalists who call them out for it.”
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