Embattled ski racer Bode Miller expressed regret Thursday for “confusion and pain” caused by remarks he made about drinking on “60 Minutes,” apparently averting a crisis within the U.S. Ski Team 29 days before the Turin Olympics.
Appearing before reporters in Wengen, Switzerland, where he will compete in World Cup races the next three days, Miller spoke for just over 2 1/2 minutes and did not take questions. The man expected to contend for multiple medals at the Turin Games seemed relaxed as he apologized to family, friends and supporters.
“Because of the way I made those comments in the ’60 Minutes’ interview, that caused a lot of confusion and pain for all those people and obviously that’s not something I want to do,” Miller said.
Miller also apologized to parents whose children consider athletes like him role models.
“Obviously the message that came through was not something I would promote, or that I am about in any aspect of my sporting career,” Miller said. “I think people who have watched me in my career can say I don’t put anything in front of my sporting career, in front of taking ski racing or sports seriously.”
Miller told “60 Minutes” he was “wasted” in a slalom race at the World Cup Finals last year, the day after he became the first American in 22 years to win the World Cup overall title. In his weekly Denver Post World Cup diary Tuesday, he said he had been hung over in that slalom, not drunk.
Bill Marolt, chief executive of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, flew to Europe on Monday to confront Miller about his comments, which Marolt denounced.
In a statement released Thursday, Marolt said he had a “great meeting” with Miller on Wednesday. A ski team source said Miller told Marolt what he intended to tell the media, and it was what Marolt wanted to hear.
“I was struck by the concern he felt about the impact his comments had on his family, kids and others who look up to him, and that he took full responsibility for what he said,” Marolt said. “Bode is a charismatic and free-spirited individual. That’s what made him an exciting personality and a great athlete. Family and kids are important to him. Even as a major sports hero, he still spends time with kids at events. And he recognizes the responsibility he has inherited, maybe now more than ever before.”
Miller won two silver medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics and will be a contender in every event he races in Turin. Nike has built a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign around him at the Games.
“We’re still completely behind Bode,” Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer said. “For Nike, whatever he needs to do to put this behind him so he can focus on skiing and training, that’s the most important thing at this point.”
