Decorated Olympic skier Mikaela Shiffrin wants to represent her own “values” at this year’s Milan Cortina Olympic Games.

“I think there’s a lot of hardship in the world globally, and there’s a lot of heartbreak. There’s a lot of violence. It can be tough to reconcile that when you’re also competing for medals at an Olympic event,” the two-time gold medalist said during her media availability in Italy on Saturday.

During her extended answer, Shiffrin read aloud a quote from Nelson Mandela, which was also recited during the opening ceremonies.

“‘Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is the creation of an environment where we can all flourish, regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, class, caste, or any other social markers of difference,’” Shiffrin said, reading the quote from her phone.

“And for me, as this relates to the Olympics, I’m really hoping to show up and represent my own values. Values of inclusivity, values of diversity, and kindness, and sharing, tenacity, work ethic, showing up with my team every single day, and the values that we bring and put out on the mountain and on the hill every single day. I’m hoping to represent those who have been supporting me this entire time.

“I’m really thankful to be here, and my greatest hope for this Olympic Games, from a broader perspective, is that it is a beautiful show of cooperation and of competition.”

The questioning for Shiffrin comes on the brink of numerous American athletes being asked how they felt representing the United States at the Australian Open as it pertains to President Donald Trump’s current second term.

Anti-ICE protests occurred in Milan last week after the announcement that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would be deployed at this year’s Games. 

U.S. Embassy officials told The Associated Press last week that ICE agents would support diplomatic security details and would not run any immigration enforcement operations, considering they would be in a foreign country.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said ICE would not be welcome in the city, and he cited images of masked agents in Minneapolis. 

“This is a militia that kills, a militia that enters into the homes of people, signing their own permission slips. It is clear they are not welcome in Milan, without a doubt,” Sala told RTL Radio 102 before ICE’s reported security involvement was revealed.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

It was not pretty, but the UCLA men’s basketball team got a win it desperately needed Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Trent Perry scored 23 points, including clutch free throws down the stretch, Tyler Bilodeau overcame foul trouble to score 19, Donovan Dent had 17 points and 10 assists and Eric Dailey Jr. scored 14 as UCLA held off Washington 77-73 Saturday night in a Big Ten clash at Pauley Pavilion.

“I’m happy with the win. It was our fourth game in 12 days,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “That said, if we keep giving up 50% from the field, our season will end really, really fast. Defensively it’s a fight every day with this group.”

Cronin was assessed a technical midway through the second half after walking 10 feet onto the floor to protest a call, but it seemed to light a fire under his team as Perry knocked down a three pointer on the Bruins’ next possession.

“I’m completely unhappy with the officiating,” Cronin said. “At some point it’s a joke.”

Dent appreciated his coach sticking up for his players during a critical stage of the game.

“It gives you juice when your coach is fired up like that,” Dent said.

Ahead of a pivotal Midwest trip to No. 2 Michigan and No. 10 Michigan State starting on Valentine’s Day, the Bruins wrapped up their three-game homestand on a positive note after splitting the first two, a one-point, double-overtime loss to Indiana followed by a 22-point blowout of Rutgers in which five players scored in double digits.

“Experience helps a lot,” Perry said of his improved consistency since last season. “I tried to do too much and did too little last year. We just have to watch film and talk it over. We’re gonna be in these situations again. We’re just glad to get this one out of the way.”

The Bruins (17-7, 9-4) struggled against Washington much as they did in the teams’ first meeting Dec. 3 in Seattle, when they escaped with an 82-80 victory thanks to 25 points (including six three-pointers) by Skyy Clark, who has sat out the past 10 games with a hamstring injury.

“Our best defender’s been out over a month,” Cronin said, referring to Clark. “This team we just played possibly has three NBA players—one for sure. So I’m happy with the win but we’re going nowhere if we don’t become a better defensive team. Last year the three best teams at the end were Duke, Houston and Florida—and they were by far the three best defensive teams in the country. We have great guys but we have to learn how to defend.”

A winner in 10 of its last 14 games, UCLA will not host its next game until a Feb. 21 matchup with fifth-ranked Illinois.

Wesley Yates III scored 12 of the Huskies’ first 16 points as they built an eight-point lead in the first eight minutes. The Bruins pulled ahead 25-23 on Perry’s three pointer with 6:15 left in the half that capped a 9-0 run, but Washington carried a 34-30 lead to the locker room — the first time UCLA trailed at halftime since its loss at Ohio State on Jan. 17.

“We let Yates get off to a hot start,” said Dent, who also had three steals while playing 40 minutes. “We can’t have lapses. We’ll have stretches where we’re really good but others where it looks like we don’t know what the hell we’re doing out there.”

Bilodeau, who scored only four points in the first 20 minutes, hit a 3-pointer 10 seconds into the second half and added another to tie the game, 38-38, a minute and a half later.

“We had no ball movement in the first half, we were stagnant,” Cronin said. “As a coach at halftime you make sure your best players get the most shots. So we got Tyler more involved.”

Dent stole the ball at half-court and drove for a layup to put UCLA in front 47-45 with 13:43 remaining and the Bruins slowly increased the lead while holding the Huskies without a field goal for nearly five minutes.

“After the loss to Ohio State it was a bumpy ride back,” Dent recalled. “Lots of people talked to me to give me confidence and that switched my mindset.”

Washington crept to within 60-58 with 5:39 left on a layup by Yates before Bilodeau’s basket and free throw restored a five-point cushion at the 4:40 mark. Dent’s driving layup made it 67-60 with 1:33 left and the Bruins improved to 13-3 when winning the turnover battle.

Yates finished with 21 points and Hannes Steinbach added 13 for the Huskies (12-12, 4-9), who cut their deficit to two on a layup and free throw by Yates with 23 seconds left. Dailey got fouled and made both shots to make it 75-71 with 21 ticks left. After a layup by Yates with 11 seconds left, Perry sank two free throws to ice the victory four seconds later.

The Bruins were 23-of-29 at the foul line and remain on pace to break the school single-season record for best free throw percentage (75.6) set in 1978-79. Perry was 10-of-11 from the stripe.

“I can’t believe he missed one,” Cronin joked.

Lindsey Vonn’s remarkable comeback to the Olympic Games is nearly complete.

Vonn completed her training in the women’s downhill on Friday and Saturday, a big test after she tore her ACL just over a week ago in a World Cup race. With her training complete, she will compete at 5:30 a.m. ET on Sunday in the women’s downhill final.

Vonn will also compete in the women’s team combined downhill and the women’s super-G.

The 41-year-old will participate in the women’s team combined official training on Monday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 a.m. ET. She will then compete in the actual event on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 a.m. ET and 8 a.m. ET.

Her final event is on Thursday, the women’s super-G, at 5:30 a.m. ET.

After Vonn was injured last week, many thought it would rule her out of the Olympics, but the Minnesota native has fought through. On X, she clarified that her ACL is 100% ruptured.

LINDSEY VONN TO COMPETE IN WINTER OLYMPICS DAYS AFTER SUFFERING INJURY IN WORLD CUP CRASH

An ACL tear normally entails a recovery that lasts about a year, but Vonn plans to fight through it.

She made a stunning comeback to the sport last year after nearly six years away from competition. Her return followed a partial titanium replacement inserted into her right knee, which she had in 2024.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Team USA legend is the second-most successful woman in World Cup history with 84 wins. She has won eight World Championship medals.

Vonn won a gold medal in the downhill and a bronze medal in the super-G in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, and a bronze medal in the downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games. She will look to add to her collection in Italy.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.