LOADINGERROR LOADINGFormer NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason called freestyle skier Eileen Gu “insufferable” on his WFAN radio show.“She’s a very, very attractive woman and she’s extremely bright — she went to Stanford — but if you listen to her post-participation interviews, she’s insufferable,” he said as co-host Gregg Giannotti laughed. “She is. It’s hard to listen to. But then again, it’s an individual sport by an individual person talking about herself as opposed to talking about her teammates or the support that she received.”Advertisement
"She’s a very attractive woman and she’s extremely bright, she went to Stanford. But if you listen to her post participation interviews, she’s insufferable" - Boomer Esiason on Eileen Gu pic.twitter.com/wLZELJx383— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 24, 2026The Winter Olympics concluded Sunday with Gu appearing to leave quite the impression on the ex-New York Jets quarterback, who led the Cincinnati Bengals to a Super Bowl in the 1988 season and was the league MVP.Gu won gold in the halfpipe on the last day to further solidify her as the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history. She now has three golds and three silvers over two Games.Advertisement
And that’s a problem for conservative critics because she collected the medals for China, where her mother was born, instead of for her native U.S.Gu’s relationship with China has reportedly padded her income by millions, Esiason noted. But supporters suggest that much of the resentment toward Gu is rooted in racism. Several U.S.-born athletes competed for other countries at the Milan Cortina Games with far less controversy.Eileen Gu of Team China celebrates during the medal ceremony for the women's freeski halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina Olympics on Feb. 22.China News Service via Getty ImagesAdvertisement
Esiason made news earlier in the Games by telling U.S. athletes to “pipe down” on their anti-Trump views.He implied a similar sentiment about Gu, but for different remarks entirely.Giannotti brought up her recent exchange with The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur. “This isn’t supposed to be a rude question, but do you think before you speak?” Harpur asked. “Because you answer questions so quickly and so comprehensively, whether it’s about geopolitics or your sport or aerodynamics. Can you take us into your brain?”“I’m an introspective young woman,” Gu answered. “I spend a lot of time in my head, and it’s not a bad place to be. I journal a lot. I break down all of my thought processes. I think I apply a very analytical lens to my own thinking, and I modify it. Because it’s so interesting, you can control what you think. You can control how you think, and therefore, you can control who you are. And especially as a young person, I’m 22, so with neuroplasticity on my side, I can literally become exactly who I want to be. How cool is that? How empowering is that?”Advertisement
Esiason was annoyed.“I will say that she’s exceptionally bright and she has her answers,” he said. “She knows how she’s gonna answer things, that’s for sure. But nobody’s really asked her a tough question. But that answer that she gave was just insufferable.”After Sunday’s victory, Gu defended her alliance with China by echoing her intent to grow the sport and inspire youth there.“There are girls in China whose lives are going to be touched by the beautiful and wonderful power of sport,” Gu said. “That, in and of itself, is absolutely measured impact that I think I had always wanted.”Advertisement
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