Politics and the Olympics often go hand in hand, and San Francisco professional skier Eileen Gu is too familiar with this notion right now. Gu has seen much backlash because she chose to compete and win Gold for China at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Skiing, even though she’s technically an American. So now, even politicians are aiming at her, with a Tennessee representative demanding to fully tax Gu by 100 percent.
Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, a Republican, is the politician in question, and earlier this week, he announced that he’s now pushing a bill called “Officially Limiting Yearly Money Procured by Individuals Concerning Sportsmanship Act,” or Olympics Act. This bill aims to take every single dollar earned by American Olympic athletes who compete for another country in Olympic competitions.
Ogles further explains, “Any American who works with a foreign adversary has not only betrayed our country, but must be stripped of all benefits from doing so. That is why I am ensuring that the IRS takes every dollar earned by athletes like Eileen Gu,” interview courtesy of OutKick.
Ogles argues earlier that Communist China is a regime that “wants to destroy our country,” which is why he sees Eileen Gu’s Olympic Gold win for China as a betrayal. Meanwhile, Gu has explained that she chose to compete for China because her mother was Chinese and has since been clapping back against her online critics, even telling them to “cry about it,” when asked why an American would compete for China.
Critics are Pointing Out the Tennessee Rep’s Hypocrisy
As it turns out, Ogles himself is not without his own legion of critics, who quickly dug up his international connections. X users pointed out how the Republican received around $40,614 from the pro-Israel lobby, with some users commenting, “Wait, he’s that pro-Israel for that little money? Utterly embarrassing.”
Others were more scathing in their critique of Ogles, “You literally work for Israel and our trying to destroy our country. There should be consequences for traitors like you.” It appears Ogles is not exactly alone in reaping benefits from pro-Israel lobbyists, as one commenter also claims, “First let’s tax 100% of all elected officials profits from foreign entities. We could have free healthcare with that tax.”
With that said, some Gu critics also agreed with Ogles, and while his proposed bill for taxing Olympians by 100 percent might seem unconstitutional, certain suggestions appear to be harsher, as one anti-Gu commenter says, “Strip her of citizenship and cancel her visa.” It appears controversy surrounding Gu is apparently hot right now and is not about to cool down soon, especially with political involvement.
