House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave a chilling warning to American athletes on Thursday who are competing in the winter games at the Beijing Olympics this year, telling them they are “there to compete” and to not risk angering the “ruthless” Chinese communist government by speaking out.

US athletes risk being hacked and surveilled in every way possible while at the games. The Chinese will be looking for opportunities to damage their reputations and credibility during competition to elevate their own athletes at the Olympics and according to Pelosi, they may even threaten their families.

“I know there is a temptation on the part of some to speak out while they are there,” Pelosi stated at a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing prior to the opening of the Olympic Games. “I respect that, but I also worry about what the Chinese government might do … to their reputations, to their families.”