Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom calls Eileen Gu ‘a traitor’ for representing China at Olympics
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Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom condemned the American-born Team China Olympic skier Eileen Gu during an interview on Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday.
“I’m just going to say it, she’s a traitor,” Freedom said. “She was born in America. She was raised in America, lives in America, and chooses to compete against her own country for, literally, the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China. She built her fame in a free country, and then chooses to represent an authoritarian regime.”
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu has never spoken out publicly against China’s alleged human rights abuses, including the nation’s alleged systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or the jailing of politician Jimmy Lai.
“She chose to play for a country that is literally responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people, and literally running a concentration camp while we’re talking,” Freedom said, comparing Gu’s silence on the issue to LeBron James‘ declining a question about China’s alleged human rights abuses in 2019.
“It’s like a play,” he said. “Whenever the human rights issues are raised about China, they all stop talking about it.”
Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympic athlete in the world, making an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and western companies. Gu has said she represents China for her mother, who was born there.
CONTROVERSIAL SKIER EILEEN GU SETTLES FOR SILVER AFTER DEFENDING GOLD MEDAL BID FALLS SHORT IN MILAN
China’s Eileen Gu reacts after the second run of the Freestyle Skiing, Women’s Freeski Slopestyle Final at the Livigno Snow Park, during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, a fellow American-born figure skater who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In all, the two were reportedly paid nearly $14 million over the past three years.
Gu has been the subject of global criticism since her decision to represent China dating back to the original decision in 2019, and her first Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. This year, that criticism has ramped up, as she has won two silver medals and even responded to a question about President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess for being critical of the current state of America.
“I’m sorry that the headline that is eclipsing the Olympics has to be something so unrelated to the spirit of the Games. It really runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be,” Gu told reporters Monday.
“The whole point of sport is to bring people together. … One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the competitive spirit, the capacity to break not only records, but especially in our sport, literally the human limit. How wonderful is that?”
Gu also claimed she had been “caught in the crossfire” herself.
“As someone who has got caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope that they can ski to their very best.”
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Gu in a Tuesday interview on Fox News’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
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Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China competes in run two of the Women’s Freeski Big Air Final on day ten of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“I have no idea what her status should be, I think that’s ultimately up to the Olympics Committee, I won’t pretend to wade into that,” Vance said.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America. So, I’m going to root for American athletes, I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.”
Gu has won two silver medals in freestyle skiing in Milan Cortina, in the slopestyle and big air events. She has one final event, the halfpipe, remaining on Saturday, where she has the opportunity to add to her total.
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