The New York Times is catching heat online for its headline about Chinese-American Winter Olympian Eileen Gu.
Gu, 22, competes internationally for China. She won two silver medals and one gold medal at the 2026 Games in Italy. Gu has six total Winter Olympics medals in two games, competing for China.
While Gu was born in the United States, she chose to compete internationally for China. It's a decision that has sparked a lot of controversy. Gu, the highest-paid athlete at the Winter Games, has defended her decision, saying it wasn't about money. Gu has also revealed that she's faced a lot of vitriol, both online and in person, for making her decision.
© Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images.
Gu, understandably, has received a lot of media attention.
The New York Times' sports section, The Athletic, recently sparked some controversy with its headline about Gu: "Inside the mind of Eileen Gu, Winter Olympics superstar — and so much more..."
"With three silvers and three golds to her name across two Olympics, Gu is a freak of nature, extraordinary in every sense of the word. So what is next for a young woman who seems to have it all?" the Times' analysis said.
Gu believes she's been very upfront.
"I guess it’s more like, I don’t know, it’s very honest," she said of her performance.
"It makes you look in the mirror and see who you are. You can’t lie to yourself. The work you’ve done or haven’t."
The New York Times, which had a piece criticizing the U.S. men's hockey team for visiting the White House, continued its praise of Gu.
"You would be forgiven if you thought Gu was a quasi-human robot expertly created by artificial intelligence, so eloquent are her responses to the media, but she is not immune to pressure, and after losing her balance on her first run in the halfpipe, she felt it," the piece wrote.
"Yet Gu bet on herself, not only in this event, but even daring to compete in three Winter Olympic events — slopestyle, halfpipe, and big air — the only female freestyle skier to do so," The Athletic's analysis said.
Fans take issue with praise of Gu
Fans are taking issue with praise of an athlete that chose to compete for China over the United States.
"I make no excuses for my distaste for Gu. Having the right to ski for anyone you wish even if includes an enemy or threat to the US is your own business. I can still maintain it was classless to do so. Where do you plan to live for the next couple of ten or so years should show where your allegiance should remain, and I wager it is not China," one fan wrote.
"I really think that you should not be able to have dual citizen ship. Your alliance should be to one country. The US citizens that choose to represent another country, should have to give up their US citizenship," one fan added.
"Why is the US media pushing the story line of Gu? Did they publish any stories about any other Olympian who lives, and trains in the US but competed for another country? Did they push any stories about any other Chinese athlete? Interview them on TV?" one fan added.
Others, meanwhile, are defending her.
"Gu is excellent at what she does. It's a shame she chose to represent China, but that's her decision. It does not take anything away from what she accomplished," one fan added.
Where do you stand on the Gu controversy?