Alpine skier Bode Miller breaks down during NBC interview after medaling in Sochi
Feb 18, 2014, 4:40 AM | Updated: Feb 22, 2014, 7:41 pm
After Bode Miller tied for bronze in the men’s super-G Sunday at the Winter Olympics in Russia, NBC reporter Christin Cooper engaged the alpine ski racer on the slopes to talk about his medal win.
Miller, who at age 36 became the oldest medalist in Olympic alpine history, brought up his late brother early in the interview, and Cooper’s questions centered on that topic from there. Cooper said she noticed Miller “talking to somebody” before starting the race.
Miller choked back tears while answering the next couple of questions about his brother — Chelone, who died in April 2013 — before breaking down completely and being unable to finish the interview.
The skier was eventually consulted by his wife before NBC shifted its coverage from there.
Richard Sandomir of the New York Times says Cooper pushed too far in her questions about Miller’s brother, but to be fair, she may have not brought up the subject if the Olympian hadn’t first.
Miller later told Matt Lauer that he doesn’t blame Cooper for the emotional breakdown. Click here to watch his full interview with Cooper.
