Bode Miller Apologizes After Facing Backlash for Saying Marriage Is Bad for Female Skiers

David Bauder/AP
Updated
The Olympic skiing medalist turned commentator said he made an ill-advised attempt at a joke

NBC commentator Bode Miller had to apologize after he suggested during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games that marriage is hazardous to your career, at least if you’re a female skier.

During NBC’s Wednesday night coverage of the slalom event, Miller’s fellow commentator Dan Hicks brought up a knee injury that knocked Austria’s Anna Veith down in the rankings.

“The knee was an issue,” said Miller, a former skier who has won six Olympic medals in alpine skiing. “I want to point out that she also just got married and it’s historically very challenging to race in the World Cup while trying to raise a family or after being married. Not to blame the spouses, but I just want to get that out there that it could be your husband’s fault.” Veith married her longtime boyfriend in 2016.

The backlash against Miller’s comments on marriage came quickly on Twitter.

Miller later apologized on TV, saying he made an ill-advised attempt at a joke. “On Valentine’s Day, I did not mean to throw spouses under the bus,” he said. He also tweeted about his comments.

Sports Illustrated noted that Miller won a bronze medal for super-G in Sochi, after he married Morgan Beck in 2012.