Team USA has issued a firm statement distancing itself from a transgender cyclist who posted celebratory messages following the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk this week.
Chelsea Wolfe, who served as an alternate on the USA women’s BMX team during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, sparked outrage after sharing a series of social media posts welcoming Kirk’s death. The conservative activist and Trump ally was fatally shot while hosting a student Q&A event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
In response to the controversy, Team USA released a statement Friday afternoon clarifying their position. “The views of current and former national team athletes are their own and do not reflect those of USA Cycling,” the organization stated. “Chelsea Wolfe has not been a member of the USA Cycling National Team or a member of USA Cycling since 2023.”
Chelsea’s Instagram story featured multiple posts celebrating the tragic incident. According to reports, one post included a USA Today article about Kirk’s death with an animated caption featuring cartoon character Dora the Explorer, accompanied by the text “We did it!”
Another showed Wolfe giving a thumbs up in a selfie with a caption reading: “Being a N*zi is completely optional btw. He didn’t have to do all that, but he did and now he’s dead. Don’t live your life in a way that the world is better following your death.”
Wolfe repeatedly compared Kirk to a N*zi in the posts, writing “We hate N*zis because they want us dead.” The cyclist also reshared content describing Kirk as “a fa**ist organizer who built his career spreading racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant hate.”
The posts drew sharp criticism across social media platforms. Tennis legend Martina Navratilova condemned the messages as “sickening.”
Wolfe made Olympic history at the Tokyo Games as the first openly transgender athlete to qualify for a United States Olympic team. However, the cyclist’s competitive career effectively ended in 2023 when cycling’s international governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, implemented new regulations prohibiting transgender athletes from women’s competition.
This isn’t the first time Wolfe has made controversial statements about representing America. In a March 2020 Facebook post, the athlete expressed hopes to “burn the American flag” at the Tokyo Olympics, writing: “My goal is to win the Olympics so I can burn a US flag on the podium. This is what they focus on during a pandemic. Hurting trans children.”
Police have arrested 22 year old Tyler Robinson in connection with Charlie Kirk’s death.
According to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, Robinson had expressed his dislike for Kirk during a family dinner prior to the shooting, describing the commentator as “full of hate and spreading hate.” Family members became concerned enough about Robinson’s comments to contact authorities following his arrest.
Robinson’s father ultimately convinced his son to surrender after recognizing him in FBI photos. The suspect now faces charges including aggravated murder, with prosecutors indicating they will pursue the death penalty if convicted.
