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Add NFL MVP Boomer Esiason to the list of Americans who are not fans of Eileen Gu.
Gu, the Olympic medal-winning skier who was born and raised in the United States but has represented China, her mother’s native country, in international competition, has become a topic of debate again after her performance at Milan Cortina.
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Gu and Zhu Yi, a fellow American-born figure skater who now competes for China, were paid a combined $6.6 million by the Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau in 2025 for “striving for excellent results in qualifying for the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.” In all, the two were reportedly paid nearly $14 million over the past three years.
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Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China attends the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women’s freeski big air event at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Hongxiang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
That information was much to the chagrin of the former NFL quarterback.
“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 the “Boomer and Gio” show Tuesday morning.
“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?’”
Gold medalist China’s Eileen Gu poses with her medals after winning the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Esiason and his cohost, Gregg Gianotti, both scoffed at the fact a reporter praised her for seemingly always having the right answers to questions.
“They didn’t ask her about the communist government of China,” Esiason quipped. “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.”
Gu, already the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, took home a gold medal in her final event of the Olympics on Sunday. In the women’s freeski halfpipe event, Gu scored 94.75 – just 0.75 points better than her second run. Nobody came close to touching her mark.
Silver medalist Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China smiles whilst holding her Faction skis and wearing her national flag during the medal ceremony for the Women’s Freeski Big Air on day ten of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 16, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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She finished her run at the Milan Cortina Games with three total medals – the gold in the halfpipe event and silvers in big air and slopestyle. She has six medals on her resume.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
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