Variety branded NBC’s coverage of Mikaela Shiffrin’s disqualification “melodramatic” and disappointing in light of the U.S. alpine skier losing her father unexpectedly in 2020. Fans called the network’s decision to broadcast what many feel should’ve been a private moment insensitive and exploitative.
In one Reddit thread, users questioned Dan Hicks’ commentary on the event. The original poster called out Hicks’ assessment that she “failed to deliver” and reaffirmed that Shiffrin’s accomplishments are her own, writing, “She wins the medal for herself! She’s not doing it for anyone. She doesn’t owe anyone. Not even a word about the fact that she almost retired from the sport last year and it’s her first Olympics since losing her dad … just ‘she failed to deliver'”
One user criticized NBC for going through with the interview in the first place, writing, “I thought having Shiffrin do the interview after slalom was in bad taste.” Another user argued that the biggest issue wasn’t Hicks’ comments, but rather NBC for zooming in on her dejectedly sitting on the slopes. They wrote “The gross part was NBC continuing to stick a camera on her and ignoring the rest of the race, but that’s not on Hicks, that’s on the director and/or EP. Hicks’ job is to try and explain why the only person the casual viewer has ever heard of went out of the race so quickly … and he really can’t because it’s a pretty shocking moment.”
