Boomer Esiason Rips Eileen Gu Over Olympic Spotlight And China Ties

Eileen Gu walked away from Milan Cortina with more hardware and more controversy.

The American-born freestyle skier, who competes for China, captured another Olympic gold medal in the women’s freeski halfpipe, finishing her Games with three medals and bringing her career total to six. But as her medal count climbs, so does the backlash back home.

Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason is the latest high-profile American to criticize Gu, blasting what he described as soft media coverage and calling her post-event interviews “insufferable.”

Recent reporting revealed that Gu and fellow American-born skater Zhu Yi were paid a combined $6.6 million in 2025 by Beijing’s municipal sports bureau for their efforts in qualifying for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Over the past three years, the total reportedly approached $14 million.

Esiason didn’t mince words on his radio show.

“It’s kinda funny that a communist country would pay a woman to be propaganda as a capitalist,” he said, pointing to what he sees as an uncomfortable contradiction.

Gu, who was born and raised in California and attended Stanford University, made the high-profile decision to compete for China ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics a move that sparked intense debate about loyalty, branding, and global influence.

Esiason also criticized what he described as a lack of tough questioning from reporters.

“She has her answers, she knows how she’s gonna answer things, that’s for sure. But nobody’s really asked her a tough question,” he said.

His comments reflect a broader frustration among critics who argue that Gu has been shielded from pointed questions about:

• Her citizenship status

• Her relationship with the Chinese government

• Beijing’s human rights record

• Whether she pays U.S. taxes

Gu has consistently avoided directly addressing some of those issues, instead emphasizing unity, sport, and cultural bridge-building.

Whatever the political debate, Gu’s athletic dominance is undeniable.

In the halfpipe final, she scored 94.75 comfortably ahead of the field. Across the Milan Cortina Games, she secured:

• Gold in halfpipe

• Silver in big air

• Silver in slopestyle

At just 22 years old, she is already the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history.

The global sports market has taken notice. Gu has endorsement deals with major luxury and athletic brands, and industry analysts estimate her annual endorsement earnings in the multi-million-dollar range.

Gu’s career sits at the crossroads of geopolitics, branding, and modern athlete activism.

China has aggressively invested in Olympic development programs and international sports prestige, viewing athletic success as soft power. Meanwhile, American audiences remain divided over athletes who switch national allegiances for financial or personal reasons.

For some, Gu represents globalism and opportunity. For others, she embodies a troubling convergence of money and political image-making.

Either way, the spotlight isn’t fading.

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