Finally Bode might get the boot

PurpleSkier

PurpleSkier

Active member
Well, everyone saw the threads about Bode Miller talking about skiing drunk, and being semi-wreckless. Now the team is considering giving him the boot.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/olympics/2006/01/10/bc.eu.spt.ski.alp.miller.s.ap/index.html

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) -- U.S. ski coach Phil McNichol questions whether Bode Miller should remain with the team following his comments about racing and drinking.

The overall World Cup champion said during a 60 Minutes profile on CBS that it's not easy "to ski when you're wasted."

The United States Ski and Snowboard Association has been swamped with angry phone calls from team donors and corporate sponsors since those remarks, and president and CEO Bill Marolt has arrived in Wengen to meet with Miller.

McNichol said Tuesday that Miller has been testing the team's limits the last two years with his contentious statements, late-night habits and refusal to compromise with staff.

"I don't know what the answer is. First we have to call the question: Can we still do this together?" McNichol told The Associated Press. "I think the question Bode has to answer is: Do you still want to be a part of the United States ski team?

"He's always tried to be a rebel, which was OK because it was fun sometimes and actually brought a lot of thinking outside the box and pushed the barriers," he added. "However, it's grown to a place where it's no longer about being opinionated and outspoken. It's about how much do I really want to be here."

Miller, who travels the tour independently in his own RV, could race separately from the U.S. team. Kristina Koznick left the women's team in 2000 to train and race autonomously with boyfriend and coach Dan Stripp.

Such a move could require Miller to handle his own logistic and administrative responsibilities and pay for his own coaches, service and travel.

Miller, who last season became the first U.S. skier to win the overall World Cup title in 22 years, told the CBS program in a broadcast aired Sunday that "there's been times when I've been in really tough shape at the top of the course."

"Talk about a hard challenge right there," Miller said. "It's like driving drunk only there's no rules about it in ski racing."

Asked if the risk meant he would never ski drunk again, the 28-year-old Miller replied, "No, I'm not saying that."

McNichol said this was only the latest in a string of problems Miller caused the team, which has long disapproved of his self-portrayal as a wild partyer who likes to drink.

In this month's online edition of Maxim magazine, Miller says he has arrived at races drunk "from the night before, where I'm just sobering up by the first round."

"We've been pretty busy cleaning up after our one outspoken cowboy," McNichol said. "When important people start to ask what kind of organization are you guys running, it's going to get the boss' attention.

"(Miller) definitely feels entitlement. His impression is that he's really not that much work for us because he's not around much, but he's bar-none twice the work of any other athlete in the program."

Earlier this season, Miller angered ski officials by calling for liberalized anti-doping rules. Teammates say they are now targeted for increased drug testing.

Last month, Miller refused to take an equipment test to ensure his ski boots conformed to regulations and was fined $762. The team ended up paying the fine for him, McNichol said.

Miller, who gripes about his sponsor and media obligations and often talks of a deep lack of motivation, last year threatened to skip the Olympics and launch a rebel ski tour.

"I think it's a little bit the image the people behind him want him to portray," International Ski Federation secretary general Sarah Lewis said. "It could be part of the problem."

Miller declined to speak to reporters at the World Cup races in Adelboden last weekend. His agent said Miller is preparing a statement.

"Bode is going to confer with U.S. ski team officials and it's my expectation that he will release some kind of sort of statement by the end of this week," Lowell Taub said.

Miller is entered in every race this weekend at the Lauberhornrennen -- a super-combined Friday, the traditional Saturday downhill and a slalom Sunday.

Though he and teammate Daron Rahlves are tied for second place behind Benjamin Raich in the overall World Cup standings, Miller has not achieved the same level of results as last season. He has one victory and three other top-three finishes this season.

At this point last year, Miller had accumulated six victories and four other podium finishes.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
 
way to be loyal to your skiers. Just tell him that he's the fucking best in the world, and has to stop drinking when he's skiing
 
Yeah, but he's going like 70 down the track. If he hit that fencing there's still a good chance he'd take out spectators. Bill Johnson (I think) went down skiing sober in a race at Big Mountain, Wf Montana, and went through all 3-4 protective fences. He was only going like 45-50
 
hmm. does the usst wanna win anything this year. They will never kick him off the team. Did the lakers kick Kobe off the team?
 
they wont because they want to win as many medals as they can, and racers are gay, if he was blazed when he won the world cup maybe it helped him?
 
I personally wouldn't want that attitude on my team. He said that he doesn't care if he wins or not in Turin. To me thats just rediculous. There are plenty of skiers that train day in and day out, and would kill to be able to participate in the olympics trying to bring home a medal. We're sending the US Ski team to Italy. Not the US beer pong team. Nothing wrong with having fun, but he needs to get his priorities in order. He's not only representing himself, but the whole United States. Having him on the team doing this also affects the other racers. But you're right, they won't kick him off. Their heads are too far up their asses.
 
props to Bode for doing what he wants, but in the end they are writing the check so i think he should listen to them
 
that's just the problem, he's trying to have fun wiht skiing, what the hell is wrong with that? I mean, if he's happy with what he is doing, then he can do what he wants. People that take skiing so seriousley that they are misearble just aren't getting it. Have fun, winning isn't where it's at.
 
I have fun skiing and I'm not all plastered every day. He probably started out not drinking, and lost interest. If that's what he has to do to make it fun, that's pathetic. He really isn't passionate about the sport, thus, his attitude sucks, and he doesn't represent us well.
 
i think its the first world cup title in 22 yrs, not 22 titles, but yah, he's too well liked but theyll reign him in a bit
 
Then don't send him to the olypics. He can race at home and drink his ass off, and have the time of his life.

They don't need this shit on the team. It's just rediculous to go to something as serious as the Olympic games with that attitude. It's not like he's on the Cuban Ski team and doesn't have a chance in hell of winning. He's one of the best racers in the world (if not the best). And he doesn't even give a shit if he wins. Very few people have the great honor to display an Olympic Medal, let alone even compete for one. He's being so hypocritical. He'll sit there and rip on Tanner all day, but whether he admits it or not, he is tanner only at a different aspect of skiing. And at least tanner cares about what he does. Idk what to say. I can't say I'm proud to send someone to the longest running and most prestigious athletic event in history, who doesn't even care to be there.
 
you draw a ton of conclusions from his interview, you are just like every other person in the US that saw that interview as cocky and controversial, pull your head out of your ass

He never said he had to be plastered to have fun skiing, he never said he had to be plastered to have fun.

Sometimes he celebrates and he goes too far... God forbid you ever go to happy hour on a thursday night and accidentally get bombed and miss work on friday, same thing, hes a skier for work though
 
i think you're completely overreacting to his comments. he obviously trains really hard, wants to win and is successful. i didnt see the interview but it sounds like he was just relaxed and talking about good times he has had, not his everyday routine.
 
Well, It is like he has a regular job. Except he represents the USA everytime he goes into a race. He does one race bombed and fucks someone up, he stains our image in the skiing world across the globe. Pull your head out of your ass.
 
God this site is so full of people who don't know what they're talking about. When did Bode rip on Tanner? Explain that one to me. Secondly, if the guy can go into a major event hung over and finish a half second ahead of the rest of the field, how is he not fulfilling his obligations to his team or his sponsors? It's not like this is a REAL team sport, anyways. However he chooses to do it, he gets results, and he's enjoying how he does it. Jesus, such a bullshit double standard... I guarantee you no one here would think twice about how "proper" it was if Tanner let it be known he was high when he hit chads last year.
 
Bodie is such a rebel~!~! oh shit im gonna get a size medium race suit so i can be as gangsta!! gotta sag that shit!
 
did you watch the interview? Where the hell did it say hes plastered every day? I'm just guessing that if you were the first american to win the world cup in 22 years you would probably be partying the night after too. He was just drunk from the night before.

Also, How is he not passionate about the sport? He trains harder and is probably in better shape than anyone else on the circuit...Just because he doesnt ski to win a medal does not mean he is not passionate. Give Bode a break. We hate racers because theyre such robots and do not know how to think independtly and have fun. Finally a racer comes along that skis to have fun, is completely unorthodox, and fights the bullshit that the race scene is built around, and you want him kicked off the team? Give me a break.
 
Meh. I'm not knocking him for skiing drunk, only representing the states while he's drunk. It's not a good image. I know Tanner, I grew up skiing with him. I know he blazes, he's good, no doubt. He did chads high, he competes high. He wins, so does Bode. I don't think it's right though. That's what I'm talking about.
 
Interview - December 2004 - Vail, CO

Question:One other thing that, obviously, comes out of Austria, when we see you drinking beer on the evening before the race, you just made a strong point about that... Just make it clear what is really going on with having seen Bode the night before the race...

Bode: Well, most of the time in downhills like this, I get up at eight o’clock in the morning, so if I go out ‘till midnight, I go to bed 12:30 or 1, I’m getting between seven-and-a-half, seven hours of sleep, it’s more than normal and it’s for sure more than I need most of the time. I don’t get drunk usually. You know, people like to make up stories, spread rumors, whatever, I go out have couple of drinks or whatever, hang out and then I go back to sleep and that’s it. And sometimes I sleep eight hours [...] sometimes I'm just socializing , and I try to balance out other things about my situation that I don’t like at all.. And, um, I just try to seek a balance there. I don’t think it’s having any kind of negative effect on my skiing. You know, people have always were trying to say that it is, and it isn’t. It’s kinda always been a story with me, people always tried to say what is good for me, and, at the end of the day, it’s exactly the same like it was ten years ago. I don’t really think about what everyone else thinks or what they want to say. I do what I want to do and, at this point, I’ve gained some credibility in that and I am not out there f**king around, I’m out there trying to win races.

^ (hmm, it's amazing how attitudes can change in a year.)

Q: Tanner Hall has said that he could run Hannekam [in Kitzbuhel ] or jump Camel Humps [in Val Gardena]... Do you have anything to say to that?

Bode: Freeskiing is a sport based on image. When you build a sport based on image, that IS the most important thing. In the same way ski racing is based on time, we focus on everything we have to do to go fast, those guys will do anything to draw attention to their sport, to make people think that they, you know, more cool, more outrageous... At this point it is more outrageous than anything else, it’s, you know, more punk-like, almost disrespectful, that’s the image that they are going for... The whole attitude, they whole personality of the sport [...] You know, he is not a stupid kid, but, he’s always kinda been a punk, everybody who knows him has always known that. [...] This is premeditated, thought out process he’s going trough. [...] This makes no difference to me, he would never back anything of that up... He just saying it to the media, he’s saying that to make a point... In general, the public believes everything you guys say, everything that you write in your articles, and he’s taking advantage of that. And if he’s ever go and run Kitzbuhel or anything like that, he would be out for the next season or maybe forever. People who know the sports know that. Some other stuff he said... He knows that too... I’ve skied with him... I’ve hit jumps before, I’ve done crazy jumps... He’s actually clever, his sport stays on that, he’s doing the right stuff... to advance his sport, to advance his career.

^ (Not that I agree with what Tanner said about Bode, Because that was a total dumbass thing to say. And racing requires so much more. But Bode, who's being the rebel punk now? Using their image to stir up a frenzy?? Especially after saying that you were so serious about winning, and how you NEVER EVER got wasted before races... because thats what little punk freeskiers do.)
 
It doesn't really matter what the USST does because Bode, with this attitude will most likely fuck himself over first.

But lets say he doesn't injure himself with his habits and doesn't get kicked off. He definitely might lose some sponsers. The parents are who buy there kids Atomic race skis and little Jimmy's mom isn't going to be so inclined to let little Jimmy idolize him. He is diggin himself in.

I have no problem with him being rebellious, but he has to do it with some good taste and grace.
 
Bode's comments about Tanner were some of the best I've heard about Tanner and would make a lot of sense coming from, say, Daron Rhalves. I literally just finished reading an article in Outside on Bode, which portrayed him as a decent guy. His recent comments however, just make him look like a jackass, even if they were "taken out of context." Tanner and Bode are alike in so many ways, probably the most important being extremely good at self-promotion. I wish they'd just shut up and ski.
 
wow i never would have thought he would say something like that

its ok if he gets drunk before or even during races sometimes but to anounce that to the world on tv? that's a different story
 
Im gonna side with Bode on this one even though both sides suck. The ski team just has too many penises up their ass. People view racing as some uptight prep sport and thats wat the ski team is trying to keep it. Bode here is giving it a more user friendly attitude by having more fun and enjoying himself. Skiing shouldnt be training down the same icy slope day in day out. People need to have fun and try some drunk skiing.
 
this whole situation is absolutely ridiculous. there was only one instance in which he was drunk when he was skiing, yet judging by the recent public uproar, one would assume he drinks shots upon shots on his way to the start gate. anyone who actually watched the interview would see that bode has a great head on his shoulders, and is very much in control of what he is doing. the u.s. ski team and their corporate sponsors need to shut the fuck up. they don't realize that by backing bode, they would silence most of the critics, and this "bode spiraling out of control" fiasco would be finished. when someone is in the public eye, one small mistake is blown incredibly out of proportion. oh and did anyone forget that during the season in which he did actually ski drunk, he won the title?
 
What the problem is, is Image.

Tanner's sponsers the the freeski communitty don't care if he was high cause propably have the industry were stoned when they watch it or filmed it.

It fits Tanners image and that sells product.

Racing on the other hand has a different image, and Bode doesn;t quite seem to fit it anymore. He represents his sponsers, and if they feel he is reflecting badly on them , there not gonna sell product, and will go with someone else. Last years champ or not, it comes down to image.

If he wants to not fit the image his industry wants him too then, drop everything and do it yourself, and continue to win and make the cash.

This is where my whole point was in that other thread, he is a bad image for racing. Plain and simple. I could care less what he does, but It's up to him on how he wants to portray himself.
 
you'd think that everyone on this site would be in love with him because he is breaking the norm. weird.
 
he admitted to not even caring about winning. do you have any idea how much his SPONSORS and the US TEAM is paying for him to go to these races and TRY to come out on top? maybe the people should "loosen up" a little, but they shouldn't have to support someone who will go on 60 minutes (where millions and millions are watching) and make himself look like a jackass.
 
bode's scheme is working though.. everyone is talking about him and he's getting an insane amount of attention for being the "rebel of racing"
 
he doesn't care about winning, but whatever he cares about happens to get him ontop of the podium fairly often. i say he should keep doing what he is doing.
 
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