The New York Times praised Eileen Gu, an American-born Olympic skier who chose to compete for China, and criticized the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, claiming they “lost the room” for visiting President Donald Trump after their gold medal win.
In the newspaper’s sports section, The Athletic, the Times published a headline titled “Inside the mind of Eileen Gu, Winter Olympics superstar — and so much more,” which lauded the athlete as “the most decorated freestyle skier.”
“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 gushed.
The Athletic‘s analysis further raved, “You would be forgiven if you thought Gu was a quasi-human robot expertly created by artificial intelligence,” before describing her responses to the media as “so eloquent.”
The piece went on to celebrate Gu as someone who “can fly without someone trying to clip her wings” when she skis, bizarrely claiming, “It is the only time she does not have to answer questions about U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance.”
The following day, the Times‘ sports section published an entirely different take on Americans who actually competed for the United States.
In a Tuesday article headlined “The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team won gold — and then lost the room,” The Athletic‘s Jerry Brewer acknowledged that speaking with the U.S. president after an Olympic gold win would typically be “an obligatory celebration,” but argued these are not “normal times” with President Trump in office.
“This isn’t a neutral climate. This isn’t a neutral president. And in a nation this polarized, the proximity carries weight whether the players are being intentional or merely naive,” Brewer wrote.
“America no longer experiences these rituals in the same way, and it may never again. Athletes would be wise to recognize that, in this climate, celebration is easily repurposed into political capital,” he added.
The piece went on to claim that the U.S. men’s hockey team “narrowed their moment” when they “stepped so early into that embrace.”
“It doesn’t ruin what they accomplished in defeating a seemingly indomitable Canadian squad. But the widespread celebration is over now. And some of their goodwill has diminished,” Brewer argued.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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