NBC reporter Christin Cooper has come under fire after she repeatedly questioned Olympic bronze medal winner, Bode Miller, about his brother’s death.
Moments after Miller finished third in the Super G final, Cooper bombarded him with numerous questions about his emotional state.
Miller originally brought up his brother, Chilly , a snowboarder who had hoped to compete at the Olympics himself until his untimely passing from a seizure in April, but Copper took this opportunity to continually probe the athlete.
Miller was visibly upset after his brother was first mentioned by Cooper. But she remained unperturbed and then asked him three penetrating questions that only made him more sensitive. One of them was about his emotions, the other was specifically about Chilly, and the last was what Miller was thinking about when he was “looking up at the sky at the start.”
Unfortunately, Miller was unable to answer any of these queries because of his fragile emotional state, and he had to stop the interview.
Miller took to his Twitter account soon after his success to admit:
Thanks for all the support, today was one of the most emotional days of my life. I miss my brother.
— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) February 16, 2014
Meanwhile, Miller also leapt to the defense of Cooper:
I appreciate everyone sticking up for me. Please be gentle w christin cooper, it was crazy emotional and not all her fault. #heatofthemoment
— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) February 17, 2014
My emotions were very raw, she asked the questions that every interviewer would have, pushing is part of it, she wasnt trying to cause pain.
— Bode Miller (@MillerBode) February 17, 2014
However, that didn’t stop various other users from registering their disgust at Cooper’s antics:
NBC had about 16 hours to decide whether it was a good idea to air that disgraceful Cristin Cooper/Bode Miller interview.
— Mark Mravic (@MarkMravic) February 17, 2014
Shame on you @NBCSports and Christin Cooper for that horrible “interview” w/ Bode Miller. Hope it was worth ripping his heart out like that.
— Ms. Cakes (@patycake15) February 17, 2014
RE: Bode Miller interview, I had no problem w/ her asking him about it (he brought it up). My problem was with 2nd, 3rd and 4th questions.
— Joe Robinson (@JoeDRobinson4) February 17, 2014
Just watching Olympics. Shame on Kristen Cooper 4 badgering Bode Miller into tears about his personal life. #Terrible #I ‘mAngry #insensitive
— Brian Baumgartner (@BBBaumgartner) February 17, 2014
Shame on you @NBC @NBCOlympics . That was seriously out of bounds! NBC Pushes Too Far in Bringing Bode Miller to Tears http://t.co/nmDpFfLIDr
— Charlie Abrahams (@Charlesabrahams) February 17, 2014
As the Inquisitr reported earlier today, Miller’s success made him the oldest Alpine medalist in Olympic history, and his sixth medal win of his career means that he’s the second-most decorated ski racer too.