The mothers of Team USA ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates are speaking with pride — and calm resolve — following online claims that their children were “robbed” of a gold medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

After Chock and Bates delivered what Bates himself called their “gold medal performance” in the free dance — a personal best set to Ramin Djawadi’s cover of “Paint It, Black” — the American duo ultimately took home silver behind France’s final skate of the night. The result sparked debate among fans, with many arguing the long-time partners and newlyweds had done enough to win.

But from the stands in Milan, their mothers kept perspective.

“We’re just proud of what they put out there,” said Barbara Chock, Madison’s mother. “They couldn’t have done anything better, and it’s out of our control and out of their control what happens beyond that. We couldn’t ask for more.”

Nancy Bates, Evan’s mother, echoed the sentiment. “I don’t think it matters — gold, silver, black,” she said. “It’s the idea of what they’ve accomplished, what they’ve brought to the sport.”

Chock and Bates, who have skated together for 15 years and competed in four Olympic Games, made history in Milan by becoming two-time gold medalists in the team event earlier in the week. Their silver in the individual competition marked their first individual Olympic medal — a long-sought milestone after years of near-podium finishes.

Even so, the disappointment of narrowly missing gold was visible. “It’s definitely a bittersweet feeling,” Chock said through tears after the event. Bates added, “We felt like we skated a winning performance. The rest is not up to us.”

Figure skating, by nature, is judged and subjective — a reality both families understand deeply.

Nancy, who watched alongside Barbara in the stands, has previously admitted that being an Olympic parent comes with its own intensity. On the Conversations with Sports Fans podcast, she joked that while Barbara remains “always calm,” she sometimes takes “a couple of beta blockers” to take the edge off.

“The athletes are trained psychologically and emotionally and physically,” Evan’s father, Dr. Eric Bates — an interventional cardiologist at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center — explained on the podcast. “But the parents don’t have that benefit.” He added that because skating is performed on a “slippery” surface, the nerves can make it hard to fully appreciate the performance in real time. “The stress on the parents is underappreciated.”

That stress has been decades in the making. Eric and Nancy Bates welcomed Evan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1989. The youngest of three children, he followed in the footsteps of his older sister Alexis, a competitive freestyle skater. Nancy, a visual artist and real estate developer, and Eric, who has spent 50 years in cardiology and trained more than 250 cardiologists, have supported Evan throughout his 25-year journey in the sport.

Barbara and Nancy’s friendship predates their children’s partnership on the ice. Over the years, they have watched routines side by side — celebrating world titles, enduring setbacks, and now witnessing Olympic history together.

“They bring so much to ice dance,” Nancy said of the duo. “They’re storytellers. They’ve expanded the whole concept of ice dance and costume, especially in the last two cycles. It just blossomed.”

Both mothers emphasized that whatever comes next — whether retirement, new creative pursuits, or even grandchildren — they will stand firmly behind their children.

“It’s limitless,” Barbara said of the pair’s future. “Whatever they choose to do, we’ll be behind them.”

For now, they are choosing pride over protest. While online chatter continues about whether Chock and Bates deserved gold, the families remain focused on what cannot be debated: four powerful performances in six days, a historic team title, and a partnership built on resilience, creativity and love.

As Nancy put it simply: “We’re just so proud of them as they are.”