Eileen Gu is the most polarizing athlete at the Olympics. The American-born freeskier chose to compete for China instead of the United States.
She feels like a “punching bag” as the subject of widespread criticism.
For Gu to act like a martyr while collecting a massive paycheck from the Chinese government proves that she does not understand the Olympics backlash. It has nothing to do with her decision to represent another country. It has everything to do with the country she chose to represent. There is a difference.
Why does Eileen Gu compete for China at the Olympics?
If you have been following along with our coverage of the Olympics here at BroBible.gov, you already know the answer to this question. Gu chose to represent China instead of the United States in 2019 at the age of 15. She is 22 years old today. It has been seven years.
Eileen Gu claims her decision — at 15 years old — had nothing to do with politics and I believe her. That does not mean it isn’t!
The decision to compete for China is an homage to Gu’s mother, who is a first-generation Chinese immigrant and a graduate of Peking University. Her maternal grandfather was the chief electrical engineer for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China. She grew up spending her summers in Beijing as a child. It was also an opportunity to “build her own pond” in a country that does not have any female representation in skiing.
Fair enough.
However, China does not typically recognize duel citizenship, which typically requires an athlete to renounce his or her original nationality. Gu also collects a massive paycheck directly from the Chinese government to not compete for the United States. Whether she likes it or not, that inherently makes her something of a political weapon. China uses her as a pawn.
United States criticism is fair.
As you could imagine, Eileen Gu has been at the center of controversy throughout the Olympics. Ex-NBA player Enes Kanter called her a “traitor” and he was not the only one to do so.
Gu claims that she was physically assaulted and robbed while at Stanford because of her allegiance to China. Her claims have not been corroborated by the university or local police but I cannot imagine that is something she would make up. And it is obviously unacceptable if true. That should not happen.
Verbal and written criticism, on the other hand, is fair game. It comes with the territory.
Even Vice President JD Vance expressed his disappointment with Gu’s allegiance to China.
Vice President JD Vance on U.S.-born Eileen Gu skating for communist China:
— Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) February 17, 2026
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America… I would hope they would want to compete with the United States of America.”pic.twitter.com/IWadevlXRI
Gu responded by saying: “I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.”
She later confirmed that she does feel like “like a bit of a punching bag for a certain strand of American politics.” She cannot understand why people are upset.
“So many athletes compete for a different country. … People only have a problem with me doing it because they kind of lump China into this monolithic entity, and they just hate China. So it’s not really about what they think it’s about.
“And also, because I win. Like if I wasn’t doing well, I think that they probably wouldn’t care as much, and that’s OK for me. People are entitled to their opinions.”
One of the most wealthy female athletes in the world does not like that people are upset with her decision to defect from the United States (the country in which she grew up and lives and trains and studies) to its biggest political rival for the Olympics. The world’s smallest violin plays for Eileen.
We’re not talking about a U.S. athlete who holds duel citizenship with, say, Austria, and chooses to compete for Austria. Regardless of where you stand with her decision or how much you choose to care, for Gu — an international relations major at one of the most prestigious universities in the world — to pretend like it is apples to apples shows a clear lack of understanding. Let’s be real.