Welcome back to the week that was. I’m getting late-breaking news that I run CBS News and CNN now. I’m processing it all. Thanks for checking in. Life takes all kinds of twists and turns, and sometimes bad things (becoming a mogul) happen to good people (me). But here we are.
→ Olympics heroes and villains: The U.S. men’s hockey team won the gold, defeating Canada! It gave us an incredible photo of Jack Hughes, mouth bloody, missing teeth, American flag around his shoulders. Iconic. Inspiring. Or is it? It is not. Because then Donald J. Trump (the current president of the United States) called the boys in the locker room to congratulate them, on speakerphone, and they were thrilled. Jubilant! And then Trumpo made a mild joke about the women’s team, and they laughed. Wrong move, boys.
Here’s the New York Times’ sports section, The Athletic:
Ah, yes. It is the responsibility of sports teams to police who is rooting for them. Everyone knows this. Or here’s HuffPost:
If my political opponents cheer for you, it means you’re bad. You’re the villain. Them’s the rules. Actually, if Americans celebrate you, you’re probably racist, says the American press. Did you know that Eileen Gu, a young woman from California but who competed for Team China, is not being celebrated as much by Team Trump? Well, then she’s good. The best. We root for Team China here. Think I’m being hyperbolic? Here’s Vox making it really simple:
Me, as the reasonable centrist, who everyone loves to yell at, I think both are incredible. I love Eileen Gu and I love the men’s hockey team. Listen to Eileen’s explanation of how she controls her mind. The woman’s amazing. I don’t care who she does the sports for, she’s American. I’m a little afraid of her, and I respect her for that. And look at Jack Hughes wrapped in the flag with that broken, bloody smile. Amazing. U-S-A! U-S-A!
