Bode Miller Defends NBC Reporter Christin Cooper: 'I Don't Blame Her At All'

Olympic skier Bode Miller has responded to backlash against NBC’s Christin Cooper during an interview where he broke down while talking about his late brother Chelone after winning bronze at the men’s super-G event on Sunday (February 16) in Sochi, Russia.

“I’ve known Christin a long time. She’s a sweetheart of a person. I know she didn’t mean to push,” the 36-year-old Olympian said on the Today show on Monday (February 17). “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 was too late. I don’t blame her at all. I feel terrible that she’s taking the heat for that because it really – it was just a heat of the moment kind of circumstance,” Bode said.

“I don’t think there was any harm intended. It was just a lot of emotion for me. It’s been a lot over the the last year…you sometimes don’t realize how much you contain that stuff until the dam breaks and then it’s just a real outpouring,” Bode concluded.

In case you missed it, watch Bode‘s heart-wrenching interview.