My latest column for the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University examined Christin Cooper’s with Bode Miller.

From the column:

Usually the postgame interviews are replete with forgettable snippets of athletes answering the how-does-it-feel questions in the heat of the moment. He or she mutters clichés about giving thanks to God and saying they couldn’t have done it without their teammates. Blah, blah, blah.

However, there are times when the postgame interview dives off the deep end and becomes more discussed than the event itself. Nothing likely will ever top Jim Gray’s World Series game “apologize now” interview with Pete Rose. Recently, ESPN’s Heather Cox took considerable heat for her excessive questioning of Jameis Winston’s off-the-field situation just minutes after Florida State won the ACC title game.

Then Sunday night, Twitter blew up in the aftermath of Bode Miller’s emotional interview with Christin Cooper during NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. After the skier won the bronze medal, Cooper persisted with questions about Miller’s dead brother until he finally broke down.

ESPN’s Keith Olbermann on his show called the interview “excruciating.” He slammed Cooper’s approach as only he can:

It was tantamount to holding up his late brother’s photo. When that didn’t get him to collapse, pointing to a picture of his late brother’s grave. Then when he finally started to break up, cutting to a live feed from his late brother’s grave.

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times wrote:

I doubt it was her intent to make him weep, but that was the effect of question overkill. Taken one at a time, each question is reasonable, and if she had asked only one of them, Miller might not have wept and fallen to his knees. But the takeaway of asking all three was that she had badgered Miller, not asked him well-chosen questions gauged with a real-time understanding of his emotions. NBC milked the situation further by keeping its cameras on the scene for more than a minute, as Miller walked away, as he was comforted by various people and as he was embraced by his wife, Morgan.

It is interesting to note that writers and broadcasters who encountered Miller a few minutes later barely touched on the brother issue during his mass interview session. Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times wrote:

Here’s what I do know: Miller was fully composed when he finally got to the U.S. press station in the mixed zone.

“To hang on to a medal today, I feel really lucky and fortunate,” Miller said.

It had been well chronicled that Miller lost his brother last April to a seizure.

Miller was more emotional than usual in the mixed zone and said ”this was a hard year,” but he did not cry. No one really pushed Miller on the issue of his brother.

Miller, frankly, was not the lead story. Even he was more interested in talking about the amazing run by U.S. teammate Andrew Weibrecht, who stunningly won the silver medal.

No, Keith Olbermann wasn’t a fan of Christin Cooper’s interview with Bode Miller. He called it “excruciating.”

He said: “It was tantamount to holding up his late brother’s photo. When that didn’t get him to collapse, pointing to a picture of his late brother’s grave. Then when he finally started to break up, cutting to a live feed from his late brother’s grave.”

Here’s Keith.

Yes, Bob Costas’ eyes still will be red tonight. Deal with it, America.

During a conference call earlier today, an upbeat Costas addressed the worst eye ailment in Olympics history.

From the call:

Welcome back, Bob. I guess one of the things people must have thought is that you stayed entirely in a very dark room for six or seven days trying to heal. But what else did you do during that time?

Bob Costas:  Well the worst three days of it I was primarily in a darkened room. There were other times when just to kind of break the monotony I would go downstairs for a little while to the restaurant of the hotel or – at night walk out on the terrace attached to the room just to get a little fresh air.

And then the second day that I was out Mark Lazarus arranged to have the NBC feed hooked up to my room so I was able to follow NBCSN, NBC, Channel 4 out of New York, KNBC out of Los Angeles. I’ll confess that at one point I caught the last minute of Syracuse vs. North Carolina State and turned away from Olympic coverage for a second to see my alma mater pull another miracle. But then I quickly went back. So I had a little ESPN so I got my CNN too. I got what I need.

And as the days went by it got progressively better. At its worst it was the light sensitivity and the blurred vision. The redness and swelling were pretty bad but they were pretty bad the last night that I was on the air too. But the light sensitivity and the blurriness is what made it impossible for me to go back on the air. As people will see tonight there’s still some redness there.

I’m better than I was but not as good as I’d like to be. In terms of being able to function I can function pretty well now, and the redness and swelling while still there are less than what they used to be.

Are you still pretty uncomfortable?

Bob Costas:  No, no, you know, I would say I’d rather not feel this way for the rest of my life but I would say on the injury list of 1-10 this is now at about a 2.

Hey, Bob. Welcome back. Was there ever a time when you were concerned that you might not get back at all during these Olympics?

Bob Costas:  I think there was probably a point three or four days ago where I thought there was maybe a 10% chance that might happen because there was one day where it kind of stalled and even seemed to go backwards for a little while. But I’ve had excellent medical care and they’ve changed the care up along the way as circumstances dictated. And so they adjusted to that.

I always thought it was likely that I would be back. I was hoping to be back on the weekend. I always thought it was likely, not certain, but likely that I’d be back today which makes sense, start of a week at least of a work week. So I thought that possibility was remote.

I know how much time and effort and research you’ve put into this. Were you feeling like I’m did all this work for nothing?

Bob Costas: My honest feeling is this: I have been lucky enough to do a lot of these dating back to ’88 in Seoul when Frank Gumble was the primetime host and I was the late night host and then all of NBC’s Olympics since ’92 in Barcelona. So my thought really wasn’t ‘oh my gosh I’m personally missing these nights on the air.’ My thought was, all the people, all my colleagues and friends who work so hard, many of them harder than I work, putting in 18-20 hour days and I just want to hold up my end of it.

You know, it’s like your team takes the field for a big game you want to be able to do your part of it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the most important part, it is the most visible part; but you want to uphold your end. And that was my frustration. I knew that Matt and Meredith would and did handle it capably.

If I had to be out Jim Bell and Mark Lazarus and I agreed that I wasn’t going to come back until I was able to do it. If that meant that I couldn’t come back until Wednesday, I wouldn’t come back until Wednesday. And if it got to the point where I couldn’t do any of the remainder of the Olympics we would have accepted that too.

I wasn’t going to come back just for the sake of coming back. But my main feeling of frustration was just that, you know, my friends and colleagues were working hard and I wasn’t a part of it.

Bob, what do you think the level of scrutiny, including how you look, is going to be tonight? Will it be more intense you think?

Bob Costas:  I have no idea but it won’t have any affect on what I do. It won’t look as bad as it did the last night I was on the air and probably it’ll look better 10 days from now but the Olympics will be over so you just go with it.

What did you think of the way your story was covered?

Bob Costas:  I only have kind of a fraction of a sense of the way it was covered. I’m just not aware of it. I don’t follow social media. And I didn’t see the vast majority of what might have been said or written. I’m aware generally and I’m aware from friends that this was viral both literally and figuratively. And, you know, I think it would have been water cooler talk no matter who the host of the Olympics was at any time because it’s such a front and center position.

If the same thing had happened to Jim McKay in 1984 people would have talked about it, it’s just that the internet didn’t exist then and there weren’t as many cable television outlets. Plus he would have been saved somewhat by an absence of high-definition TV. So you have kind of a perfect or imperfect storm of circumstance that made this a bigger deal than it was.

I really have felt uncomfortable about that. You know, I just don’t feel comfortable having anything other than the work itself be what people are talking about. But sometimes it’s just unavoidable and this was one of those very rare situations where it was unavoidable.

I’ve often said that if someone were to go on the air and recite the Gettysburg Address from memory but they wore a bowtie when they usually don’t more people would say, “Hey, what’s with the bowtie?” Or wore glasses and they usually don’t. “Hey, what about the glasses?” even though you recited the Gettysburg Address from memory backwards. You know, that’s the world we live in.

Chris Dufrense of the Tribune Olympics bureau encountered a different Bode Miller than what America saw during his emotional interview with Christin Cooper on NBC last night.

It seems for Dufrense and the other writers who covered his race, Miller’s brother wasn’t an essential theme during his mass interview with the media.

Dufrense writes:

Here’s what I do know: Miller was fully composed when he finally got to the U.S. press station in the mixed zone.

“To hang on to a medal today, I feel really lucky and fortunate,” Miller said.

It had been well chronicled that Miller lost his brother last April to a seizure.

Miller was more emotional than usual in the mixed zone and said “this was a hard year,” but he did not cry. No one really pushed Miller on the issue of his brother.

Miller, frankly, was not the lead story. Even he was more interested in talking about the amazing run by U.S. teammate Andrew Weibrecht, who stunningly won the silver medal.

Later, Dufrense writes:

Am I surprised Cooper’s interview has created such a buzz? Well yes, and no, and clearly that was her purpose.

I do think the interview and subsequent reaction undermines the story of the day, which was Weibrecht’s unbelievable result.

But hey, that’s television.

I know there are many downsides to shutting down your sport for three weeks in the middle of the season.

However, the rating for Saturday’s U.S.-Russia game underscores why the NHL needs to participate in the Olympics.

From NBC:

NBCSN averaged 4.1 million viewers for Saturday’s thrilling USA-Russia Olympic men’s hockey game (7:30-10:30 a.m. ET/4:30-7:30 a.m. PT) – setting a record for the most-watched hockey game in the network’s history (previous: 4.0 million for Blackhawks-Bruins in 2013 Stanley Cup Finals Game 3), according to live plus same day fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company.  Viewership for the game peaked at 6.4 million from 10-10:30 a.m. ET during the tension-laden, eight-round shootout and is the most-watched half hour in NBCSN history.

Mind you, this was for a game that started in the early morning hours on a Saturday. Imagine the rating for a primetime start.

Yet, this is more than about ratings for the NHL. Hockey was the big story of the day on Saturday. Hockey in February. And it will be through this week with the U.S. going for a gold medal. Frankly, the Stanley Cup Final doesn’t receive this kind of attention.

If you are looking to extend your base and lure more casual fans to the sport, how can the NHL not be in the Olympics? There isn’t a better marketing opportunity than being part of the chase for gold. Then again, I’m guessing Gary Bettman already knows that.

That’s why NHL players are in Sochi. And even though it will be another major pain, it is why they will be in South Korea for the 2018 Olympics.

Update: Bode Miller defended Christin Cooper during an interview with Matt Lauer on Today.

Matt Lauer:  We saw a very emotional side of you, Bode, after the race, not only in a tweet you sent out, but also in that interview that’s getting a lot of attention, and the interviewer is getting attention as well. Christin Cooper is being criticized for some by pushing too far on questions about the death of your brother. I just would like your take on that?

Bode Miller: I’ve known Christin a long time and she is a sweetheart of a person. I know she didn’t mean to push. I don’t think she really anticipated what my reaction was going to be and I think by the time she sort of realized it, I think it was too late and I don’t really, I don’t blame her at all. I feel terrible that she is taking the heat for that because it really is just a heat of the moment kind of circumstance, and I don’t think there was any harm intended. So, it was just a lot of emotion for me, it’s been a lot over the last year and that you sometimes don’t realize how much you contain that stuff until the dam breaks and then it’s just a real outpouring.

********

Another day, another sideline reporter under fire.

In December, Heather Cox caught flak for a post-game interview with Jameis Winston about his off-the-field problems.

Sunday, it was Christin Cooper. The Internet erupted after Cooper asked repeated questions to Bode Miller about his brother, Chelone, who died last year in a snowboarding accident. The negative fallout got so intense, Miller felt compelled to come to her defense.

This morning, NBC felt compelled to issue a statement:

“Our intent was to convey the emotion that Bode Miller was feeling after winning his bronze medal. We understand how some viewers thought the line of questioning went too far, but it was our judgment that his answers were a necessary part of the story. We’re gratified that Bode has been publicly supportive of Christin Cooper and the overall interview.”

Here is a link to the video.

The transcript:

Cooper: Bode, such an extraordinary accomplishment, at your age, after a turbulent year, coming back from knee surgery, to get this medal today, put it in perspective. How much does this mean to you?

Miller: I mean it’s incredible. I always feel like I’m capable of winning medals but as we’ve seen this Olympics it’s not that easy. To be on the podium, this was a really big day for me. Emotionally, I had a lot riding on it. Even though I really didn’t ski my best, I’m just super super happy.

Cooper: For a guy who says that medals don’t really matter, that they aren’t the thing, you’ve amassed quite a collection. What does this one mean to you in terms of all the others.

Miller: This was a little different. You know with my brother passing away, I really wanted to come back here and race the way he sensed it. This one is different.

Cooper: Bode, you’re showing so much emotion down here, what’s going through your mind?

Miller: Um, I mean, a lot. Obviously just a long struggle coming in here. It’s just a tough year.

Cooper: I know you wanted to be here with Chelly, really experiencing these games. How much does this mean to you to come up with this great performance for him? And was it for him?

Miller: I don’t know if it’s really for him but I wanted to come here and, I dunno, make myself proud, but …

Cooper: When you’re looking up in the sky at the start, we see you there and it looks like you’re talking to somebody. What’s going on there?

At this point, Miller breaks down and cries.

OK, America, was it too much? Richard Sandomir of the New York Times thought so:

He was holding up, but tears had started to trickle down Miller’s face.

He was being a stand-up guy, even if he was being pulled through a wringer.

Now was truly the time to stop. If you’ve made a medal winner cry, it is time to simply say “thank you” and move on. It was on tape, so NBC could have cut it off and gone to Matt Lauer in the studio. Instead, Cooper forged on, wondering whom he seemed to be talking to when he looked up in the sky before he started his run down the mountain.

It was not a bad question, but by this point, it was overkill.

“What’s going on there?” she said.

Miller’s helmeted head was bowed and he was unable to answer. The clock kept ticking, and I expected NBC to turn its camera elsewhere or for Cooper to say, “Thanks, Bode, you had a great race.” That did not happen. And there was no interview with the gold medalist, Kjetil Jansrud, to plug in and change the tempo.

Of course, it was too much. Sure, viewers like to see raw emotion, but please spare us a therapy session in these postgame, or post-ski, interviews.

The whole thing felt intrusive and highly uncomfortable. It wasn’t necessary for Cooper to get her Barbara Walters moment at that moment.

It was yet another example of the interviewer, not the interviewee, becoming the story. When that occurs, it is a sure sign that the interviewer crossed over the line.

Put it under the file of another lesson for discussion in upcoming sports journalism classes.