Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom calls Eileen Gu 'a traitor' for representing China at Olympics

Former NBA subordinate Enes Kanter Freedom condemned the American-born Team China Olympic skier Eileen Gu during an interrogation connected Fox News' "Ingraham Angle" connected Tuesday. 

"I'm conscionable going to accidental it, she's a traitor," Freedom said. "She was calved successful America. She was raised successful America, lives successful America, and chooses to vie against her ain state for, literally, the worst quality rights abuser connected the planet, China. She built her fame successful a escaped country, and past chooses to correspond an authoritarian regime." 

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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremonial of the freestyle skiing women's freeski large aerial lawsuit astatine the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games successful Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026.  (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Gu has ne'er spoken retired publically against China's alleged quality rights abuses, including the nation's alleged systematic run of repression against Uyghurs and different predominantly Muslim taste minorities successful the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, oregon the jailing of person Jimmy Lai.

"She chose to play for a state that is virtually liable for the deaths of tens of millions of its ain people, and virtually moving a attraction campy portion we're talking," Freedom said, comparing Gu's soundlessness connected the contented to LeBron James' declining a question astir China's alleged quality rights abuses successful 2019. 

"It's similar a play," helium said. "Whenever the quality rights issues are raised astir China, they each halt talking astir it." 

Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympic jock successful the world, making an estimated $23 cardinal successful 2025 unsocial amid partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and occidental companies. Gu has said she represents China for her mother, who was calved there.

CONTROVERSIAL SKIER EILEEN GU SETTLES FOR SILVER AFTER DEFENDING GOLD MEDAL BID FALLS SHORT IN MILAN

China's Eileen Gu reacts aft the 2nd tally of the Freestyle Skiing, Women's Freeski Slopestyle Final astatine the Livigno Snow Park, during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics successful Italy connected Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.  (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)

The Wall Street Journal reported past week that Gu and Zhu Yi, a chap American-born fig skater who present competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 cardinal by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau successful 2025 for "striving for fantabulous results successful qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics." In all, the 2 were reportedly paid astir $14 cardinal implicit the past 3 years.

Gu has been the taxable of planetary disapproval since her determination to correspond China dating backmost to the archetypal determination successful 2019, and her archetypal Winter Olympics successful Beijing successful 2022. This year, that disapproval has ramped up, arsenic she has won 2 metallic medals and adjacent responded to a question astir President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess for being captious of the existent authorities of America.

"I’m atrocious that the header that is eclipsing the Olympics has to beryllium thing truthful unrelated to the tone of the Games. It truly runs contrary to everything the Olympics should be," Gu told reporters Monday.

"The full constituent of athletics is to bring radical together. … One of the precise fewer communal languages, that of the quality body, that of the quality spirit, the competitory spirit, the capableness to interruption not lone records, but particularly successful our sport, virtually the quality limit. How fantastic is that?"

Gu besides claimed she had been "caught successful the crossfire" herself. 

"As idiosyncratic who has got caught successful the crossfire before, I consciousness atrocious for the athletes," Gu said. "I anticipation that they tin skis to their precise best."

Vice President JD Vance weighed successful connected the contention surrounding Gu successful a Tuesday interrogation connected Fox News' "The Story With Martha MacCallum."

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Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People's Republic of China competes successful tally 2 of the Women's Freeski Big Air Final connected time 10 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games astatine Livigno Snow Park connected Feb. 16, 2026 successful Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

"I person nary thought what her presumption should be, I deliberation that's yet up to the Olympics Committee, I won't unreal to wade into that," Vance said. 

"I surely deliberation that idiosyncratic who grew up successful the United States of America who benefited from our acquisition system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this state a large place, I would anticipation they privation to vie with the United States of America. So, I'm going to basal for American athletes, I deliberation portion of that is radical who place themselves arsenic Americans. That's who I'm rooting for successful this Olympics."

Gu has won 2 metallic medals successful freestyle skiing successful Milan Cortina, successful the slopestyle and large aerial events. She has 1 last event, the halfpipe, remaining connected Saturday, wherever she has the accidental to adhd to her total.

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