“The world is watching us,” said Toby Dawson, a bronze medalist in freestyle moguls. “Go have fun, absolutely go have fun, but don’t disrespect anyone.”

Skater Sasha Cohen, the figure skating silver medalist, said she had no problem with the concept of Olympic role models.

“It’s definitely our responsibility to have other people respect our actions, and be proud of us,” she said.

The latest dustup involved freestyle skier Peterson, who was sent back to the United States after police broke up a fight between him and friend in the mountain venue of Sauze D’Oulx. Peterson, after a reported all-night party, can now watch the closing ceremony on television.

Scherr noted the vast majority of the 211-member U.S. team had no problems during their Winter Games stay. “A few color the rest of the delegation, but that’s life,” he said.

The troublemakers didn’t include figure skater Johnny Weir, who raised some eyebrows by appearing with a red jacket that bore the Cyrillic initials of the former Soviet Union.

Slide show   Emotional Moments Feb. 26: See photos of athletes' highs and lows from Sunday.

“I certainly don’t think Johnny espouses the principles of communism,” Scherr said.

Maybe principles of fashion. The skater owns more than 100 pairs of designer sunglasses and almost 40 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage.

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