Stanford in the Winter Olympics - Printable Version
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RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - JustAnotherFan - 02-08-2022
I agree with those who suggested that people should spend less time slamming the opportunistic 18 year old Stanford student (she'll have plenty of classmates sell out worse than she did) and more time slamming institutions that turn a blind eye to oppression (e.g., IOC, NBA) or actively commit crimes against humanity (e.g., China, USA). Personally, I don't know how anyone could stomach representing the People's Republic of China if given the option of virtually anywhere else. At the same time, if I were an olympic level athlete (I'm not, so ...) maybe I would see if I could represent Costa Rica or Switzerland to protest my home country.
I may have missed it, but is Gu the only Stanford affiliated person in this Olympic games?
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - Farm93 - 02-08-2022
(02-08-2022, 06:20 PM)JustAnotherFan Wrote: I agree with those who suggested that people should spend less time slamming the opportunistic 18 year old Stanford student (she'll have plenty of classmates sell out worse than she did) and more time slamming institutions that turn a blind eye to oppression (e.g., IOC, NBA) or actively commit crimes against humanity (e.g., China, USA). Personally, I don't know how anyone could stomach representing the People's Republic of China if given the option of virtually anywhere else. At the same time, if I were an olympic level athlete (I'm not, so ...) maybe I would see if I could represent Costa Rica or Switzerland to protest my home country.She's already made a ton of money in China, and will make millions and millions more now. And let's note that most of the money she will get will be from American and European luxury brand companies not actually from the Chinese government. It's not the best situation given China's activities over the last few years, but it is already apparent that she is not exactly running around saying the Chinese government is amazing or perfect. She seems very skilled at sliding right over all of that.
I may have missed it, but is Gu the only Stanford affiliated person in this Olympic games?
FWIW - Chloe Kim's experience after winning gold in 2018 may have influenced things a touch. For those not aware Chloe is Asian American and was only 17 last time around. After winning the gold for the USA she got lots and lots of messages, e-mail and letters telling her she was not a true American and should go back to (Asia/China/Korea/etc.).
https://people.com/sports/chloe-kim-says-she-gets-hundreds-of-racist-messages-monthly-opens-up-about-anti-asian-attacks/
Since the haters in the USA are going to hate anyway, I can see the logic of at least getting several million dollars out of the deal. The USA haters can hate and she can spend her summer relaxing in Europe filming ads for the dozens of luxury brands. Brands that have no problem hunting for profits in China and probably would prefer to work with someone born in the USA in their campaigns.
Right now a lot of USA citizens are upset she is not representing the USA, but I suspect in time those in China will discover many reasons to hate her too.
Haters gonna hate.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - BigJohn043 - 02-08-2022
She is an 18 year old kid. I would cut her some slack and lay off the geo-political stuff. She may not be your cup of tea and like most I wished she competed for the USA and not China. But she is an 18 year old kid. If you want to criticize her parents then I guess that is fine.
I am also not quite sure why we aren't offended when kids leave Stanford to chase a buck but horrified that she is doing the same.
I wish her the best of luck. I was rooting for those competing for the USA but if someone else had to win this seems like a good outcome....
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - BostonCard - 02-08-2022
Yes, I believe that Gu is, for better or worse, the only Stanford affiliated Olympian in Beijing. Obviously, we do well in the summer games, but not a lot of winter sports at Stanford.
BC
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - BostonCard - 02-09-2022
Gotta love the CCP:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pro-china-twitter-accounts-flood-hashtag-critical-of-beijing-winter-olympics-11644343870?mod=djem10point&wsj_native_webview=iphone&ace_config=%7B%22wsj%22:%7B%22djcmp%22:%7B%22propertyHref%22:%22https://wsj.ios.app%22%7D%7D%7D&ns=prod/accounts-wsj
A reminder that Twitter is banned in China.
BC
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - ca245 - 02-09-2022
(02-09-2022, 10:31 AM)BostonCard Wrote: Gotta love the CCP:1984 in 2022
https://www.wsj.com/articles/pro-china-twitter-accounts-flood-hashtag-critical-of-beijing-winter-olympics-11644343870?mod=djem10point&wsj_native_webview=iphone&ace_config=%7B%22wsj%22:%7B%22djcmp%22:%7B%22propertyHref%22:%22https://wsj.ios.app%22%7D%7D%7D&ns=prod/accounts-wsj
A reminder that Twitter is banned in China.
BC
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - cardcrimson - 02-09-2022
(02-08-2022, 11:56 PM)BostonCard Wrote: Yes, I believe that Gu is, for better or worse, the only Stanford affiliated Olympian in Beijing. Obviously, we do well in the summer games, but not a lot of winter sports at Stanford.
BC
I blame Shaw.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - BostonCard - 02-09-2022
Yes, I believe that Gu is, for better or worse, the only Stanford affiliated Olympian in Beijing. Obviously, we do well in the summer games, but not a lot of winter sports at Stanford.
BC
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - Phogge - 02-10-2022
Right on Crimson. I too blame Shaw. For the Game Five loss to the Dodgers. I haven’t quite come to a decision about the stalemated and still unresolved Korean Conflict.
lex24 - lex24 - 02-10-2022
(02-05-2022, 09:37 AM)2006alum Wrote:(02-04-2022, 04:06 PM)teejers1 Wrote:(02-04-2022, 01:36 PM)dabigv13 Wrote: True, I don't know her inner motivations. But she's been a professional model and world class athlete for several years so I'm certain she is more worldly than most 18 year olds and knows the value of her image and brand.
I follow soccer and from time to time players will play for countries not of their birth if they have some parent or grandparent that can get them citizenship. Usually this is to get a spot on a team that's either perceived as stronger, or sometimes if they can't get a spot on their own team. There are some money aspects to it, and I don't really have an issue with it.
But Gu could and did represent the US, where she has lived her whole life, and would have had a very profitable marketing haul from that if she chose. She instead chose the path to being megarich rather than just rich, and that path includes representing an authoritarian repressive state that uses athletics as an important part of their international soft power.
Maybe most 18 year olds don't think about it so much but I'd hope ones matriculating to Stanford would. So if she's maximizing her earning potential, she's taking very dirty money to do it and it's fair game to call her on it.
I hope some of her former teammates beat her at her "home" Olympics but I'm not going to be watching.
Wow, dabig . . . just wow!
I was nodding my head in 100% agreement from top to bottom.
Well-said.
Eff-Gu!
Add me to the bandwagon here. I'm soft protesting these Olympics by simply not engaging. No clicks, no eyeballs. Taking note of who the major sponsors are and shopping elsewhere as appropriate. The hypocrisy of all these brands that care about "DEI" and then take money from this is galling. Not to mention the NBA, hypocrites par none.
The one sports league that has come out with a lot of credibility is the WTA, where they've refused to host tournaments in China until they feel sufficiently satisfied that Peng Shuai is free to live her life as she pleases. The WTA is going to take a of immense proportions hit from it, financially, but they're putting their money where their mouth is.
Good for the WTF. Maybe the NBA should follow suit….. Good luck with that…. 5 Billion reasons suggest otherwise.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - Bruce Wang - 02-11-2022
At a time when my fellow Asian-Americans get assaulted because they are not seen or trusted as fellow Americans, Gu Ailing's decision to renounce her American citizenship feels like a betrayal. I can not celebrate her accomplishments, no matter how much they impress.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - cardcrimson - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 09:36 AM)Publius Wrote: At a time when my fellow Asian-Americans get assaulted because they are not seen or trusted as fellow Americans, Gu Ailing's decision to renounce her American citizenship feels like a betrayal. I can not celebrate her accomplishments, no matter how much they impress.
I've not seen that she's renounced her US citizenship. Can you provide a link?
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - DaBears17 - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 09:51 AM)cardcrimson Wrote: I've not seen that she's renounced her US citizenship. Can you provide a link?
She was asked twice during a press conference about her citizenship status and skirted the question in her answers.
Reporters press Eileen Gu over her citizenship. See her response (cnn.com)
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - dabigv13 - 02-11-2022
Yikes, her answer was pretty terrible. Would hope sports journalists would just keep asking only about that until she actually answers. Wonder when we'll get some clarity.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - teejers1 - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 10:41 AM)dabigv13 Wrote: Yikes, her answer was pretty terrible. Would hope sports journalists would just keep asking only about that until she actually answers. Wonder when we'll get some clarity.
Yikes is right. I watched the first evasive, non-responsive minute of her answer and then shut it down.
I have the same reaction to her now as I do with Shaw - don't trust a word coming out of the mouth - so don't bother listening to anything he says. Same with Gu. Why bother with the aggravation? [And yes, all topics can be brought back to Shaw!].
Will say this with respect to Gu (as someone else may have mentioned): who knows what kind of subtle or not-so-subtle pressure Xi's government is putting on her. But still, hard to get on board with her riding the gravy train for gravy train's sake. BTW, does anyone care if she is an American citizen now? If so, why?
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - dabigv13 - 02-11-2022
What's interesting about it is whether or not she got an exception to CCP's usual rule about dual citizenship (not allowed). If she did get an exception and is still a US citizen, then she got some sort of special treatment (and her new fellow Chinese may take a dimmer view of her, because they may have assumed she renounced her US citizenship like every foreign Olympic recruit.)
So it's obvious why she would prefer ambiguity. Frankly if she did renounce her US citizenship I'd be much more at peace with her whole deal.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - JustAnotherFan - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 09:36 AM)Publius Wrote: At a time when my fellow Asian-Americans get assaulted because they are not seen or trusted as fellow Americans, Gu Ailing's decision to renounce her American citizenship feels like a betrayal. I can not celebrate her accomplishments, no matter how much they impress.
My fellow Asian-Americans don't get assaulted because they are not seen or trusted as fellow Americans. They get assaulted because we live in a racist society.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - 2006alum - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 10:17 AM)DaBears17 Wrote:(02-11-2022, 09:51 AM)cardcrimson Wrote: I've not seen that she's renounced her US citizenship. Can you provide a link?
She was asked twice during a press conference about her citizenship status and skirted the question in her answers.
Reporters press Eileen Gu over her citizenship. See her response (cnn.com)
If my eyes roll any harder they'll fall out the back of my head... Clearly she hasn't or she would just say. And clearly China is fine with it because everyone gets to have their cake and eat it too. Yet another example of "rules are for thee but not for me" when it comes to people with power, money, and/or status.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - cardcrimson - 02-11-2022
(02-11-2022, 10:41 AM)dabigv13 Wrote: Yikes, her answer was pretty terrible. Would hope sports journalists would just keep asking only about that until she actually answers. Wonder when we'll get some clarity.
Why is clarity important to us? Why does she have to answer? It's her life.
Wondering how many people here hold dual citizenships. I get that China doesn't typically allow it, but there are always exceptions. As for every Chinese athlete renouncing their former country's citizenship, wasn't there a post earlier that stated that didn't appear to be the case?
Here's an article: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/ct-olympics-us-born-athletes-china-20220208-t7gncjt7xbcwvnclt7f7ydlmri-story.html
"Like other foreign-born athletes representing China at the Beijing Games, Jake Chelios will play under a Chinese name. In any official Olympic context, he will be Jieke Kailiaosi. “My new name? I love it. It’s cool. It’s part of the experience. Since I’ve been over here, everything’s kind of new for me, and that’s the exciting part about playing overseas,” Chelios said at Saturday’s practice."
Feel free to crush Jake, er Jieke, as well.
RE: Stanford in the Winter Olympics - 2006alum - 02-11-2022
The idea that nationality doesn't matter -- at the Olympics -- is kind of silly. Isn't the whole point to represent your country? If she was not born a Chinese citizen and their laws require her to renounce her U.S. citizenship in order to become one and thus to represent China in the Olympics, well, then, that's a question of eligibility and absolutely within the purview of fair questioning. The reality, of course, is that she doesn't want to answer because the answer reveals the underlying hypocrisy of her entire public profile.