NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom condemned the American-born Chinese team Olympic skier Tuesday during an interview on PK Press Club’ “Ingraham Angle.”
“I’m just going to say it, she’s a traitor,” Freedom said. “She was born in America. She grew up in America, lives in America, and chooses to compete with her own country for, literally, the worst human rights violating country on the planet, China. She built her fame in a free country, and then chooses to represent an authoritarian regime.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awards ceremony of the women’s big air freestyle skiing event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Livigno, Italy, February 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Gu has never publicly spoken out against Alleged human rights violations in Chinaincluding the alleged systematic campaign of repression against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, or the imprisonment of politician Jimmy Lai.
“She chose to play for a country that is literally responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of its own people and is literally running a concentration camp as we speak,” Freedom said, comparing Gu’s silence on the issue to LeBron James’ refusal to answer a question about alleged human rights abuses in China in 2019.
“It’s like a play,” he says. “Whenever human rights issues are raised about China, they all stop talking about it.”
Gu is the highest-paid Winter Olympic athlete in the world, earning an estimated $23 million in 2025 alone through partnerships with Chinese companies, including the Bank of China, and Western firms. Gu said she represented China to her mother, who was born there.
Controversial skier Eileen Gu settles for silver after defending her gold medal bid in Milan
China’s Eileen Gu reacts after the second run of the women’s freestyle skiing Slopestyle final at the Livigno Snow Park during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Monday, February 9, 2026. (David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
THE Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, another American-born figure skater who now competes for China, received a total of $6.6 million from the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “striving to achieve excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In total, the two men reportedly received nearly $14 million over the past three years.
Gu has faced global criticism since her decision to represent China, dating back to the initial decision in 2019, and her first Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. This year, that criticism intensified, as she won two silver medals and even responded to a question about President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Olympian Hunter Hess for criticizing the current state of America.
“I’m sorry that the title that overshadows the Olympics has to be something that has nothing to do with the spirit of the Games. It really goes against everything the Olympics should be about,” Gu told reporters on Monday.
“The whole point of sport is to bring people together. … One of the very few common languages, that of the human body, that of the human spirit, the spirit of competition, the ability to break not only records, but above all in our sport, literally the human limit. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Gu also claimed that she herself had been “caught in the crossfire.”
“As someone who has been caught in the crossfire before, I feel sorry for the athletes,” Gu said. “I hope they can ski at their best level.”
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Gu in an interview Tuesday on PK Press Club’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PK Press Club APP
Ailing Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China competes in the second round of the Women’s Freeski Big Air Final on the tenth day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on February 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“I have no idea what his status should be, I think it ultimately depends on the Olympic Games Committee, I’m not going to pretend to get into that,” Vance said.
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America and who has benefited from our education system, the freedoms and liberties that make this country a great place, I would hope that they would want to compete with the United States of America. So, I will root for American athletesI think part of it comes from people who identify as Americans. This is why I support these Olympic Games.”
Gu won two silver medals in freestyle skiing at Milan Cortina, in the slicestyle and big air events. She has one last event left, the halfpipe, on Saturday, where she has the opportunity to increase her total.
