America Shrugs at Zoe Atkin Skiing for Britain. It Can’t Stop Talking About Eileen Gu. Ask Yourself Why

Last Sunday in Livigno, two young women stood on the halfpipe podium. Both were born in the United States and attended Stanford. Both chose to compete for a country that is not America. Someone got a bronze medal and shined ESPN writing. The other has spent the past two weeks subjecting himself to political and online vitriol as he races under the weight of what he describes as “two countries on my shoulders.”

The skier who openly said he bought it death threats Eileen Gu. The one person who didn’t was Zoe Atkin. And the gap between those two experiences is the story that most news still has at its fingertips.

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The Setup That No One Accepts

Atkin was born in Newton, Massachusetts. His father is British and he has had the right to represent Great Britain since birth. He raced for Team GB for years, and America largely treated it as a human interest story: talented American-born skier, British passport, end of conversation.

Gu’s situation is even more complicated; not because athletes don’t change flags, but because of China’s approach to citizenship. China does not recognize dual citizenship. Gu over and over again US refuses to publicly disclose citizenship status. There is also no public record of the US government indicating that it has officially given up on this, as noted in previous reports. Uncertainty has been going on for years, and culture wars are fueled by uncertainty.

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This distinction is real. It still fails to explain the extent of the difference between how America treated these two women.

What Did America Actually Say?

Gu described being physically attacked, having his home burglarized, and receiving death threats due to backlash over his representation of China. These allegations were widely reported. Criticism did not remain in the comments section. Vice President J.D. Vance weighed in during the Games and answered a question about his selection in a way that continued the debate in the political arena. Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom attacked the decision. Online, this discussion often skips past sports altogether and goes straight to the language of loyalty: traitor, betrayal, choosing a side.

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Atkin’s approach was the exact opposite. Warm coverage. Celebration. A medal story that will remain a medal story.

The Variable That No One Wants to Name

The variable that best explains the difference is not citizenship documents. Chinese.

Gu said this openly during the Games: people “Include China in this monolithic entity” and “I hate China,” he said, adding that the anger stemmed from what the flag represented rather than his personal decision. He also suggested that winning intensified the backlash.

That part is important. Changing the flag is no problem. China is. So is the fact that Gu won.

Counter-Argument Honestly Stated

There is a consistent answer to all this: Great Britain and China are not equivalent choices. One is our close democratic ally. The other is a geopolitical rival with a documented human rights history and state-sponsored sports programs that are subject to scrutiny. Recent reports have also detailed the financial support Gu received from Beijing’s municipal sports bureau in previous years, which has become part of the broader political debate.

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But this is not like the sound of the loudest anger. The biggest anger is about identity and belonging; It’s about who counts as one of us and who has to explain themselves. When this language is applied to Gu, but not to Atkin, it becomes difficult to argue that the response was entirely about principle, despite the basic symmetry of the decision.

What Gu Actually Did

Gu’s decision has always been shaped by identity as much as opportunity. He talked about being an American in the United States and Chinese in China, choosing the path where he could make the biggest impact. 15 year old told Time: “The USA already has representation. I like to build my own pond.”

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He has since won six Olympic medals across two Games, earned tens of millions in endorsements during his peak years, and is continuing his education at Stanford. He did not openly say that he was giving up his American identity. But most reactions treated her decision as a binary choice and wrote it off.

Question Asked by the Podium

On Sunday, Gu was at the top of the podium. Atkin stood three steps below. Both were applauded. Only one was treated as if his medal required an oath of loyalty.

They came from the same country. They made the same basic category selection. The line between celebrity and dubious wasn’t just through athletic eligibility rules or citizenship papers.

It involved the flag and something about who could hold it without being asked to prove it.

What this thing was, the internet spent two weeks carefully refusing to say.