I actually agree with all of this except the nonsense about losing her citizenship. That's a deeply un-American suggestions that reveals the writer's constitutional illiteracy.
If Gu wants to use her celebrity to promote an evil regime, she has a First Amendment right to do so. Her citizenship is also guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. It can't be taken away from her involuntarily unless she obtained it through fraud.
Nah dawg, Olympic athletes represent their country, not their government. I find it distasteful, but no different from Mondo or that Mexican skier from the US.
Her ability to represent China and make tens of millions is contingent on her using her image to burnish that of the regime. If she were to voice any criticism, she would be persona non grata there instantly. She would not make a dime, and she would not be allowed to continue representing them. You can't distinguish between the country and the government under those circumstances.
Choosing to represent a country like Sweden is entirely different. Sweden is a liberal democracy with respect for human rights. They're in a military alliance with the United States. They also don't stop athletes from speaking out about Swedish politics and policies. And it doesn't matter whether Mondo actually chooses to speak out about Swedish politics. The fact that he has the right to do so without jeopardizing his athletic career is what makes it possible to distinguish his representation of the Swedish people with representation of Swedish government.
This post was edited by rojo 1 hour after it was posted. Reason provided: LRC note. She said she was "physically assaulted on the street,” which many people would refer to as being beaten.
I guess many people don't know the definition for assault. Why is Rojo white knighting for dumb people with notes like this?
Neither Mondo nor Gu chose their parents. So Mondo has the option to represent either country without any ethical implication whereas Gu does not due to the repressive regime of her parents home country?
The citizenship marketplace in sports has led me to lose interest in national sporting events. Look at USMNT where a good chunk of the team were not born/raised here. Playing their youth representing one country then switching to US once they’re older. Many national teams are full of mercenaries these days.
I actually agree with all of this except the nonsense about losing her citizenship.
Her citizenship is also guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. It can't be taken away from her involuntarily unless she obtained it through fraud.
Wrong! How do people come up with these crazy ideas? She was born in the United States so her US citizenship can't be taken away from her for fraud or for any other reason.
Neither Mondo nor Gu chose their parents. So Mondo has the option to represent either country without any ethical implication whereas Gu does not due to the repressive regime of her parents home country?
Yes. Obviously. I'm not sure why you think that's weird.
Suppose John and Jim each inherit a family business. John's family business is an auto repair shop. Jim's family business is a protection racket. Jim's decision to carry on the family business has ethical implications that John's does not.
Wrong! How do people come up with these crazy ideas? She was born in the United States so her US citizenship can't be taken away from her for fraud or for any other reason.
If a naturalized citizen obtained citizenship fraudulently, they can lose it. If someone claims to be a natural born citizen, but it is proven that they were not, in fact, born here, the U.S. can withdraw its recognition of their citizenship. Technically such a person never was a U.S. citizen to begin with (sort of like how a Catholic can get an annulment on the theory that they were never really married), but for all practical purposes, it means losing the status of a U.S. citizen.
You can also lose your citizenship by renouncing it. That can be done formally at an embassy (for instance, many expats renounce citizenship for tax purposes). But renunciation can also be inferred from actions, such as swearing allegiance to a foreign power, taking up arms against the United States, serving in a senior role in a foreign government, etc. Of course, Gu has done none of those things, and her intent to retain her U.S. citizenship is obvious.
Anyway, the point I was making is that it's insane and un-American to suggest that she should lose her citizenship, as well as being a legal impossibility. I included the caveats in case someone wanted to be pedantic and say, "actually, there are ways to lose citizenship." It's true. There are. They're just very narrow and difficult and not applicable here.
1) I really hope this ends up being a hoax / totally exaggerated so she can be knocked down several peg - shamed out of endorsements at least in this country.
2) What she is doing really disgusts me. Can you imagine an athlete in say 1960 who was born and raised here competing for the Soviet Union? Or a Jew who fled the Holocaust competing for Germany? Of course not.
Enes Kanter summed things up perfectly.
Enes Kanter wrote:
Eileen Gu is a traitor.
She was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against her own country for the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China.
She built her fame in a free country, then chose to represent an authoritarian regime while cashing in on endorsements linked by watchdog groups to mass detention and forced labor camps.
When human rights come up, she disappears.
That’s not neutrality. That’s a choice.
She chose to play for a country responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people and that is running concentration camps right now, instead of the country where she was born and given opportunity.
You don’t get to enjoy the freedoms of U.S. citizenship while acting as a global PR asset for the Chinese Communist Party. By choosing to promote the CCP on the world stage, Eileen Gu forfeited any moral claim to America and should not keep her U.S. citizenship.
PS. These things should all be verifiable. But if her dorm was broken into, how do we know it wasn't someone from Chinese intelligence? I mean when I went to China in 2008 I was told to assume everything in your room would be searched.
1) I really hope this ends up being a hoax / totally exaggerated so she can be knocked down several peg - shamed out of endorsements at least in this country.
2) What she is doing really disgusts me. Can you imagine an athlete in say 1960 who was born and raised here competing for the Soviet Union? Or a Jew who fled the Holocaust competing for Germany? Of course not.
Enes Kanter summed things up perfectly.
Enes Kanter wrote:
Eileen Gu is a traitor.
She was born in America, raised in America, lives in America, and chose to compete against her own country for the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China.
She built her fame in a free country, then chose to represent an authoritarian regime while cashing in on endorsements linked by watchdog groups to mass detention and forced labor camps.
When human rights come up, she disappears.
That’s not neutrality. That’s a choice.
She chose to play for a country responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people and that is running concentration camps right now, instead of the country where she was born and given opportunity.
You don’t get to enjoy the freedoms of U.S. citizenship while acting as a global PR asset for the Chinese Communist Party. By choosing to promote the CCP on the world stage, Eileen Gu forfeited any moral claim to America and should not keep her U.S. citizenship.
PS. These things should all be verifiable. But if her dorm was broken into, how do we know it wasn't someone from Chinese intelligence? I mean when I went to China in 2008 I was told to assume everything in your room would be searched.
Are you jealous of her because she is younger and much more successful than you can ever be? Or the scar from your visit of China 18 years ago still haunt you, physically and emotionally?
Wow, really, Rojo?? She disgusts you? Do all of the Americans who choose to represent other countries in track and field disgust you, also? You disgust me, Rojo.
This post was edited by rojo 1 hour after it was posted. Reason provided: LRC note. She said she was "physically assaulted on the street,” which many people would refer to as being beaten.
I guess many people don't know the definition for assault. Why is Rojo white knighting for dumb people with notes like this?
This is Rojo we're talking about. So, umm, you know.
If she had been "beaten," it would have been news. And she didn't say she was beaten.
"Assault" does not even require physical contact. Threatening or shaking your fist or throwing a paper cup (as someone suggested) are all "assault."
I would bet every last penny I have that, by saying "physically assaulted" she was shoved or someone grabbed her arm or someone got in her face to lecture/yell at her.
Nah dawg, Olympic athletes represent their country, not their government. I find it distasteful, but no different from Mondo or that Mexican skier from the US.
Her ability to represent China and make tens of millions is contingent on her using her image to burnish that of the regime. If she were to voice any criticism, she would be persona non grata there instantly. She would not make a dime, and she would not be allowed to continue representing them. You can't distinguish between the country and the government under those circumstances.
Choosing to represent a country like Sweden is entirely different. Sweden is a liberal democracy with respect for human rights. They're in a military alliance with the United States. They also don't stop athletes from speaking out about Swedish politics and policies. And it doesn't matter whether Mondo actually chooses to speak out about Swedish politics. The fact that he has the right to do so without jeopardizing his athletic career is what makes it possible to distinguish his representation of the Swedish people with representation of Swedish government.
Fwiw Mondo wanted to represent the U.S. but Sweden allowed him to have his dad as his coach.