Eileen Gu drew boos
San Francisco’s Chinatown New Year parade named Eileen Gu grand marshal — and her appearance drew audible boos during the march, prompting separate celebrations for other skaters like Alysa Liu in nearby Oakland coverage. The moment underscored lingering tensions in community receptions of high‑profile athletes at cultural events.
A short video on X that circulated after the parade carried the post ID linked in the original report (x.com), and a number of national outlets picked up that clip in their coverage of the weekend events. (nytimes.com) Local reporting put crowd sizes along the route in the thousands while city organizers and legacy coverage cited much larger seasonal figures — organizers noted last year’s festivities drew over one million visitors and local outlets described turnout ranging up to “hundreds of thousands.” (kron4.com) The New York Times framed the reaction as split within the community, saying the homecoming renewed conversations about identity after Gu’s decision to compete for China, a point that has animated national commentary. (nytimes.com) Conservative commentators and some Republican officials publicly criticized the parade honor, a backlash covered by outlets that highlighted the partisan response to a hometown athlete being celebrated after representing another country at the Winter Games. (yahoo.com) Nearby Oakland staged its own, separate celebration for hometown skater Alysa Liu, with the city announcing an event and local coverage reporting Liu’s return and her Olympic haul (multiple reports noted Liu won two gold medals this season). (nbcbayarea.com) East Bay reporting said the Oakland program drew thousands of fans and included civic figures and local sports luminaries expected to attend, underscoring how Bay Area municipalities staged distinct tributes for different athletes over the same post‑Olympic weekend. (eastbaytimes.com)
