American skier turned analyst Bode Miller quickly apologized Wednesday night for what he called an "ill-advised attempt at a joke" blaming a gold medalist's decline on her recent marriage.
Austrian skier Anna Veith won gold during the 2014 Sochi Olympics but tore her ACL in October 2015.
Bode's broadcast partner, Dan Hicks, brought up the injury during Veith's first run in the giant slalom competition and mentioned how she hasn't been the same since.
Miller responded by saying that her "knee is certainly an issue" then added "I also want to point out she also got married. And it’s historically very challenging to race on the World Cup with a family or after being married.”
“Not to blame the spouses, I just want to toss it out there that it could be her husband’s fault,” Miller said.
Many people tweeted out their frustration with Miller's comments and he quickly sent out an apology saying that he wasn't "seriously blaming Anna Veith's lack of results on her husband."
Miller also apologized later on in the NBC broadcast adding that he was an athlete who competed after getting married and knows how beneficial it is.
"I know the support team that you need. I relied on my friends and family and if you have the luxury of relying on a spouse I know they're inevitably your biggest supporter and on Valentine's Day I did not mean to throw spouses under the bus certainly I'm going to be hearing it from my wife I know," Miller said.
