(DCNF)—A recent report by The Associated Press is drawing attention online for appearing to criticize a Nordic country for having too few non-white athletes on its rosters for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Associated Press (AP) published a piece Monday with the headline, “Europe’s rising diversity is not reflected at the Winter Olympics. Culture plays a big role.” While naming other European countries, the story and its accompanying video, posted Friday to X, focused primarily on Sweden. It prominently featured one Somali immigrant to the country who has a “passion” for snowboarding, yet does not appear to compete in the sport professionally.
“Immigration from Africa and the Middle East is changing the demographics of Europe’s top winter sports countries, but that hasn’t really translated to their largely white rosters heading to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics,” a female narrator says in AP’s video. “For instance, Team Sweden is almost entirely made up of ethnically Swedish athletes, which is hardly a reflection of the country’s diversity as Sweden has welcomed historic numbers of asylum seekers in recent decades.”
The outlet’s story began with recounting the perspective of Maryan Hashi, a Somali-born woman who took up snowboarding after immigrating to Sweden.
“Maryan Hashi remembers the thoughts running through her mind when she began hitting the ski slopes in northern Sweden. As a Black [sic] woman from Somalia, she felt like an ‘alien,’” AP’s story continues. “A few years later, snowboarding is the 30-year-old student’s big passion and it is helping her integrate into her adopted country’s society better than she could ever have imagined. What she’d love now is to see other migrants experiencing the same joy.”
“My parents made me nervous because they felt scared. They felt maybe I was also out of place, maybe something dangerous, maybe something I don’t belong to, but I proved them wrong,” Hashi says in the video, appearing to reference the time she started to snowboard in Sweden.
“Immigration from Africa and the Middle East has transformed the demographics of Europe in recent decades. And while the growing diversity is reflected in many sports such as soccer … it hasn’t made a dent in winter sports,” AP’s story continues.
It also noted that, during the upcoming Winter Olympics taking place in Northern Italy from Feb. 6 – 22, “Sweden is sending a team made up almost exclusively of ethnically Swedish athletes.” It called New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad, a member of the 2026 Swedish Olympic men’s ice hockey team, a “rare exception.” Zibanejad was born in Sweden to an ethnically Iranian father and an ethnically Finnish mother.
“The Olympic rosters of France, Germany, Switzerland and other European winter sports nations look a lot like Sweden’s: overwhelmingly white and lacking the immigrant representation seen in their soccer or basketball teams,” AP added.
“Immigrants typically live in major urban areas away from skiing hubs in the mountains and are in less privileged economic positions,” the narrator of AP’s video continues. “Participating in winter sports can be very expensive. While some countries like Sweden offer programs to young children that give them access to free ski equipment and the slopes, experts also believe that more needs to be done by winter sports to improve accessibility, specifically for immigrants and underserved communities.”
A Trump administration State Department official called out the outlet in an X reply to the video.
“The AP is concerned that there are too few Somalis snowboarding for the Swedish Olympic team,” Sarah Rogers, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, wrote Saturday on the platform. “Every time you think the media has evolved to be more sophisticated and serious since the 2012-2020 era, you get an item like this.”
“Wait til you guys find out about the racial demographics in the NBA or on NFL defenses,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck, known for his opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in corporate America, wrote in an X reply to AP.
NBA and NFL players — specifically on the defensive side of the ball — are predominantly African American, despite the fact that only about 14% of the U.S. population is black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
About 73% of Sweden’s population claims an ethnically Swedish background, Statistics Sweden, an agency of the European country’s Ministry of Finance, reports, citing 2022 data. Less than one percent of Sweden’s population is of Somali descent.
As of Sunday afternoon, both Rogers’s and Starbuck’s replies to AP on X have received significantly more “likes” than the video.
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Why Bullion Beats Numismatics and Collectible for Your Safe or IRA
Precious metals continue to attract Americans seeking reliable ways to protect their wealth amid inflation, geopolitical risks, and stock market swings. Whether stored in a home safe or held inside a self-directed IRA, physical gold and silver deliver tangible value that paper or digital assets often lack. Yet investors must choose carefully between bullion—pure bars and coins valued mainly for their metal content—and numismatics or collectibles, where rarity, history, and collector demand heavily influence pricing.
Advisor Bullion serves as a dependable source for straightforward, high-quality bullion. The company specializes in physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, emphasizing transparent pricing and products that deliver maximum metal content for every dollar spent. This approach makes it ideal for both personal holdings and retirement accounts.
Bullion consists of refined precious metals in standard forms like one-ounce coins (American Gold Eagles, Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs) or bars. Their value tracks closely to the current spot price of the metal. A typical gold bullion coin trades near the live gold spot price plus a small premium. This structure keeps costs clear and predictable.
Numismatic coins and collectibles add substantial value from factors such as age, rarity, minting errors, or historical significance. A pre-1933 U.S. gold coin or graded proof piece can carry premiums of 30%, 50%, or even 200% above melt value. While this appeals to hobbyists, it creates complexity. Pricing depends on subjective grading, collector trends, and auction results instead of daily spot prices.
For investors focused on wealth preservation and retirement security rather than building a collection, bullion often delivers better results.
Lower Costs and Better Liquidity for Home Storage
When keeping metals in a home safe or private vault, liquidity and efficiency count. Bullion offers clear benefits:
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- Bullion prices remain transparent and update with global spot markets. You can track gold near current levels or silver accordingly and know exactly where your holdings stand. Numismatic values are priced by the Gold IRA companies with hefty margins applied.
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In times when quick access to value becomes important, bullion’s simplicity stands out.
Stronger Fit for Precious Metals IRAs
Precious metals IRAs continue gaining traction as investors diversify retirement portfolios beyond stocks and bonds. IRS rules permit certain bullion products in self-directed IRAs if they meet purity standards (.995 fine for gold, .999 for silver) and are held by an approved custodian. Eligible items include American Gold and Silver Eagles plus many generic bars and rounds from recognized mints.
Numismatic and most collectible coins generally face heavy scrutiny from custodians due to valuation disputes and elevated markups. These higher premiums mean less actual metal ends up working inside the account.
Bullion avoids these issues. Its value links directly to verifiable spot prices, which simplifies reporting and lowers the risk of regulatory challenges. More of your IRA contribution purchases real metal instead of dealer profits or speculative upside. Over time, owning additional ounces that appreciate with the metal itself can create meaningful outperformance compared with high-premium alternatives that deliver fewer ounces.
Regulatory guidance from the CFTC and state securities offices repeatedly cautions against aggressive sales of expensive numismatics or “semi-numismatic” coins for IRAs. For retirement planning, transparent bullion from established providers reduces risk and aligns better with long-term goals.
How to Get Started with Bullion
Begin by clarifying your goals. Are you protecting savings in a safe, or moving part of a retirement account into a precious metals IRA? Focus on the number of ounces you can acquire at current prices rather than chasing marked-up collectibles.
Diversify sensibly: use gold for core preservation and silver for its blend of industrial and monetary qualities. Mix coins for easier divisibility with bars for lower per-ounce costs on larger buys. Arrange secure storage—whether at home with proper insurance or through professional facilities.
As economic uncertainties linger and faith in conventional assets erodes, bullion continues proving its worth as a dependable store of value. Its direct approach avoids the hype that sometimes surrounds collectible markets and keeps the focus on the metal itself.
For investors prepared to strengthen their portfolios, Advisor Bullion supplies the expertise and selection needed to acquire high-quality bullion efficiently. Whether building personal holdings or integrating metals into an IRA, their emphasis on transparent, investment-grade products helps secure more ounces today that support greater financial security tomorrow. In a complicated financial landscape, bullion’s clarity and reliability make it the smarter foundation for protecting what matters most.