I get that– but the athletes in question in the recent discussion would have made the US team.
I know. That’s what makes her controversial. She represented China which is a direct affront to most Americans. The Chinese love to claim her. Guess the 23 million (direct money paid by China plus sponserships) she made last year was worth it to her.
Agree…seems like a money play which is her prerogative (it must be allowable within the rules.) Makes it hard for me to cheer for or even care about her wins – but I guess she is laughing all the way to the bank.
Capitalism at work in Gu’s case.
But note that the US team also has immigrants, some of whom became US citizens only recently.
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Many years ago a very popular and well paid player for the Boston Red Sox became a free agent and went to the Yankees for something like an additional 5 or 10 million dollars. About a month later I was having dinner with a couple of friends who worked for my employer’s primary competition. We were discussing this “unloyalty”. I mentioned somewhat jokingly (but also entirely truthfully) that I would go work for them for only one million dollars. They didn’t need to give me the full five million.
In the case of the former Red Sox player he had already been making several million dollars per year with the Red Sox. He was already rich. He did not really need to jump to the competition to become rich.
Elaine Gu was not making the big bucks with the US team. She did get to make the big bucks skiing for China. Also, she does have some family connection with China through her mother.
And what she was doing was skiing. There were no state secrets involved. There was no proprietary information involved. She was just skiing really, really well.
Based on my comment at that dinner years ago, I suspect that I would have done the same thing if I were in the same situation.
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Almost all in that article had American parents but were living in other parts of the world some because of military background so their training especially at a young age was in another country. So not immigrants.
One took 7 years to become naturalized (and recently got it–good for her!) and another was going through the process (5 years along) and then married an American.
This was for ucbalumnus..sorry about that.
Agree – it is sports. As I said above, she is free to do what she likes and I’m free to root or not root for whomever I choose. It just rubs me the wrong way when people are not forthright about money being a factor – but YMMV
FWIW coming from a ND household…there are certainly bad feelings when people leave for more money LOL.
It’s funny that Gu gets dinged for having capitalist motivations for competing for a communist country 
She has also stated repeatedly that she is highly motivated by the possibility of developing a new generation of snow sports athletes in China, particularly female athletes.
Another little bit of irony in this discussion - which country do we think treats its female athletes better? (Not political, talking about gender equality and pay parity)
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She is the grand marshall for the lunar new year parade in San Francisco this year, so looks like she still has some fans here.
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Speaking of Chinese-American athletes and boomer jokes, did anyone see this Instagram post from Barbra Streisand:
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China treats you well if they’re profitting from it. They sanction slavery for many of their people. They treat you better if you’re from the USA and represent them. The money she takes is not just “capitalism” on her part. It is a PR ploy for China to promote themselves using her for their purposes. It couldn’t get better for them. Cheap even.
Today, modern slavery in China is a significant human rights concern, with an estimated 5.8 million people living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021, according to the Global Slavery Index 2023. This is a result of both state-imposed systems and private exploitation.
Chinese athletes are generally subject to a highly centralized, state-run sports system focused on maximizing medal counts, often involving intense, closed-door training from a young age and strict control over their lives. While elite athletes can achieve significant social mobility and financial success, many retired, non-champion athletes face challenges with unemployment and poverty.
[image]Walk Free +1
But back to Olympics!
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Yes, please
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I’ll also say, my favorite line from the US hockey drama is from Hilary Knight.
“It’s a great teaching point to really shine light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats. And now I have to sit in front of you and explain someone else’s
behavior. It’s not my responsibility.”
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I especially appreciated that the entire press room applauded her when she gave that response.
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My niece was born in the US. Educated and has always lived in the US. She played her sport in college and also abroad in professional leagues. She has competed for the national team of the birth country of her mother. The majority of her teammates are also citizens of other countries. They have to be dual citizens to compete. They all love their sport and love competing. My niece would never make the national team in the USA.
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IMO this is a very different situation: 1) your niece’s motives seem to be to compete which she could not do for the US team; 2) she is a dual citizen (China does not allow dual citizenship with the US so not sure how that works for the athletes discussed above); 3) money is not your niece’s likely but unspoken motivation.
Again, this is just my feeling. Of course everyone is free to do as they wish (within the rules.)
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Wow.. I knew Ilia had a little sister who was also a skater. She is actually an amazing skater! Can’t wait to watch her compete in the Olympics someday. You go Elli!
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