Former Olympic medalist and World Cup champion Bode Miller is leaving the U.S. ski team, ending their contentious relationship.
The fiercely independent Miller has been at odds with the association for years, and there long had been rumblings he would leave the team. U.S. officials have been unhappy with Miller’s late-night partying and his outlandish public comments.
But he was by far the best skier on the team. The 29-year-old Miller won two silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but was shut out at the 2006 Turin Games despite being a favorite in nearly every Alpine discipline.
The announcement came as the U.S. team opened training camp in Park City, Utah, on Saturday.
Miller told U.S. men’s coach Phil McNichol of his decision to leave the team following a meeting at the headquarters of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association in Park City.
“Bode is a great athlete and we hope he will continue to have athletic success,” U.S. Alpine director Jesse Hunt said. “We had a serious discussion with Bode about his responsibilities as a team member, and he later advised us he was choosing not to join the team.”
Miller met Thursday with Hunt, McNichol and USSA president Bill Marolt.
The discussion never got into details of Miller’s behavior, according to Tom Kelly, the association’s VP for marketing and communications.
Miller can still compete at the Olympics and other major international competitions, but will have to travel and train on his own.
Miller left Park City for New Hampshire to be with his family. His cousin, Liko Kenney, was killed after an altercation on Friday night in which he fatally shot a police officer.
