It seems we can’t let an Olympics pass without wondering whether an Asian American athlete is truly American.
I’ve watched the reactions to Eileen Gu, the Chinese American athlete who decided to ski for China this Olympics, with dismay and disgust. It seems we can’t let an Olympics pass without wondering whether an Asian American athlete is truly American. Every four years, the Olympic team gets more diverse, and every four years, the American media fumbles for the words to describe them. A New York Times profile of Gu wondered, breathlessly, “Is she American or is she Chinese?” She is obviously both. Although Gu is one of many American athletes who choose to compete for other countries, her decision is being singled out as unpatriotic. Never mind that critique has never been applied to the scores of American athletes who compete for their home countries in the Olympics. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo plays for Greece. Former Lakers champion Pau Gasol played for Spain. This Olympics, at least 15 other American athletes competed for other countries. Commentators complain that Chinese authorities will use Gu to score political points on America. But what points those might be, and what they might be worth, is never fully articulated. Apparently, the United States and China are in some kind of popularity contest for athletic talent, and it’s bad for democracy and America if we lose, somehow. And I had to laugh at the hand-wringing over the possibility that Gu may have considered that she could make more money in China as a result of her decision. Have you seen a Hollywood film in the last 20 years? Can you name a company that would not make more money in China if it could? What about the scores of American athletes who have sought work in China because they are worth more there? What about the $123.9 billion that Americans invested in China in 2020, according to Statista? But when it comes to Eileen Gu, all of a sudden, capitalism and making money in China is unpatriotic? What a bizarre turn of events.
