Hines Ward announced as 2018 Winter Olympics Games Ambassador

Korean American Football star Hines Ward is the latest name to be announced by the PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (POCOG) as a Games Ambassador at a ceremony today in Seoul, Korea.

Born in Seoul in 1976, Hines is now a successful entrepreneur, CNN sports contributor, and NBC analyst but he is best known for his achievements in the sports field in American Football by competing in over 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The wide receiver became the first Korean American to win the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 2006, and this accolade threw him into the spotlight internationally.

His list of achievements are nothing short of impressive: two-time Super Bowl Champion, a four-time Pro Bowler, the all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and the only receiver in Steelers history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for four straight seasons.

In 2010, Hines received one of his biggest honors when President Barack Obama appointed him as a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. He is a big advocate for social acceptance of foreigners in Korea, especially mixed-race youth and created the Hines Ward Helping Hands Foundation, which helps mixed-race children in South Korea who have suffered discrimination.

Ward said:

I have been blessed during the years of playing football and I am honored to be able to give back in some way to South Korea by supporting the Winter Games. It is going to be an amazing event and a fantastic chance to see the world’s top winter athletes perform Korea.

I know what it takes to perform at the highest level in your sport, and I know the dedication and effort that all the Olympic and Paralympic athletes will be putting in for PyeongChang 2018. There is nothing better than competing in front of a huge crowd, and I hope we can create that atmosphere for everyone who comes to take part in the Games.

POCOG President LEE Hee-Beom said:

Hines Ward is one of our most successful athletes, and we are very proud to have him as a Games ambassador. He has been a strong voice for important issues in our country, so we are very happy that he is now going to be a voice for PyeongChang 2018 as well.

For more information, please contact:

POCOG Press Office
Email: pressoffice@pyeongchang2018.com