The more pushback former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason gets for his non-mainstream views, the more comfortable he seems stepping into the fire.
Esiason has built a reputation for rattling the left side of the sports media aisle by taking straightforward positions, including urging Olympic athletes to think twice before using their platform to lecture the public about politics.
On Tuesday, Esiason turned his attention to Eileen Gu, the American-born freestyle skier who chose to represent Team China in the Winter Olympics. The decision has followed her for years, and it resurfaced again during the Milan Cortina Games.
Speaking on his radio show, Esiason did not mince words.
"The Chinese government paid her a lot of money. It’s kinda funny that a communist country would pay a woman to be propaganda as a capitalist," Esiason said on Tuesday.
"She’s a very attractive woman and she’s extremely bright. She went to Stanford. But if you listen to her post-participation interviews, she’s insufferable. She is. It’s hard to listen to. But then again, it’s an individual sport by an individual person talking about herself, as opposed to talking about her teammates or the support that she receives. If you listen to her, you’re like, ‘what?’"
Esiason also questioned why Gu is rarely pressed about the political implications of her choice.
"They didn’t ask her about the communist government of China," he said. "But the thing about her is, I will say this, she’s exceptionally bright. She has her answers, she knows how she’s gonna answer things, that’s for sure. But nobody’s really asked her a tough question."
U.S. born freestyle skier Eileen Gu. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Whether people agree with his tone or not, Esiason’s broader point is about accountability. Gu made a deliberate choice to compete for China despite being born and raised in the United States and educated at Stanford. That decision opened the door to scrutiny.
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