Congressman Andy Ogles is entering a bill to wipe out foreign income for athletes who choose to represent an ‘adversary’ in light of Eileen Gu’s controversial defection to China.
San Francisco-born Gu, who claimed two women’s freestyle skiing gold medals for China at the Winter Olympics, has faced a huge backlash in recent weeks over her decision to snub USA and compete for her mother’s birth country in Milan.
Given China’s alleged human rights abuses, and status as one of America’s main Communist adversaries, a number of conservative commentators have taken aim at the skier for choosing to represent them, while branding her a ‘traitor’ to her home nation.
One of those critics is Ogles, a Republican representative from Tennessee, who is calling for US-born athletes to be taxed 100 percent on any foreign income earned while representing either China, North Korea, Iran or Russia.
His proposal is called the ‘Officially Limiting Yearly Money Procured by Individuals Concerning Sportsmanship Act’ – which goes by the ‘Olympics Act’ for short.
‘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,’ Ogles told OutKick.
A Republican is calling for athletes who represent a ‘foreign adversary’ to be stripped of their income in light of the Eileen Gu (pictured) controversy
Congressman Andy Ogles (pictured) wants to them to be taxed 100 percent on foreign income
The act would create a new federal tax set at 100 percent on income earned by US citizens and lawful permanent residents who compete in major global events on behalf of a ‘foreign entity of concern’, which currently included China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.
It would target two separate incomes; money received from competing in a global athletic event on behalf of a foreign entity of concern, and sponsorship payments received as a result of competing for that foreign entity.
Gu has banked a staggering $23million over the past year, yet a look at her books reveals a mystery that has left the sports world scratching its head.
Of that eye-watering fortune, it is estimated that only about $20,000 actually came from endeavors on the slopes.
The answer lies in a high-stakes gamble that saw the California-born prodigy turn her back on Team USA to represent a nation 6,000 miles away.
By trading her American allegiance for a Chinese bib, Gu has cashed in on a billion-dollar market while being branded a defector by the country that raised her.
For a standard aspiring athlete, the prospect of moving between two of the most dominant sporting nations can be daunting and a decision that could likely mean that they never reach their goals of representing their nation at the Olympic Games.
But for Gu – who was destined for the big stage no matter who she represented – it offered her the prospect of becoming the ‘perfect storm’ on the Olympic scene.
Gu, who won two gold medals for China at the Winter Olympics, has faced a huge backlash over her decision to snub USA
‘Eileen Gu is in a unique position,’ Berri said. ‘We have an athlete competing in a large market, with relatively less competition for endorsement dollars (compared to the US), and who has been very successful in competition. Not surprisingly, she has landed quite a few endorsement deals.’
In the United States, an Olympic skier must compete for airtime and endorsements against a deep roster of legendary winter athletes and celebrities, meaning Gu has had less of a battle on her hands to generate cash.
Ogles first took aim at the Olympian earlier this month, accusing her of betraying the US.
‘Eileen Gu is a US-born skier who is working for Communist China, a regime that wants to destroy our country,’ the Tennessee representative wrote on X.
‘There must be consequences for those who betray the United States and support our adversaries.’
Gu has never commented publicly on China’s alleged human rights abuses, including accusations of a systematic campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities.
She claimed that the ‘tough decision’ was fueled by a desire to inspire millions of athletes
China has leveraged her glamorous, Western-educated image to deflect international condemnation over the repression of Uyghurs and the dismantling of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, with ex-NBA player and human rights activist Enes Kanter Freedom recently labeling them ‘the worst human rights abuser on the planet.’
‘I’m just going to say it, she’s a traitor,’ Freedom said about Gu in an interview with Fox News, via the New York Post .
‘She was born in America. She was raised in America, lives in America, and chooses to compete against her own country for, literally, the worst human rights abuser on the planet, China.
‘She built her fame in a free country, and then chooses to represent an authoritarian regime.’
