American rapper Snoop Dogg has been named an ‘honorary coach’ for Team USA at next year’s Winter Olympics.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced on Thursday the 54-year-old will take on “a volunteer role celebrating and supporting America’s athletes off the field of play”.
Snoop Dogg was a big presence for the US during the summer Games in Paris last year, serving as a special correspondent for broadcaster NBC’s Olympics coverage, as well as performing at the handover ceremony for Los Angeles 2028.
“Team USA athletes are the real stars – I’m just here to cheer, uplift and maybe drop a little wisdom from the sidelines,” said ‘Coach Snoop’.
The Winter Games take place in Milan and Cortina, Italy, from 6-22 February.
USOPC said Snoop Dogg “will lend his signature humour and heart” to help motivate and inspire US athletes, while the organisation’s chief executive officer Sarah Hirshland said the hip-hop star’s “enthusiasm for the Olympic and Paralympic movement is contagious”.
Snoop Dogg added: “This team represents the best of what sport can be: talent, heart and hustle. If I can bring a little more love and motivation to that, that’s a win for me.”
Snoop, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr, is a big sports fan who in 2005 founded the Snoop Youth Football League, which aims to provide inner-city children opportunities to play American football in stadiums around the US.
By BBC News
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