U.S. Ski Team coaches giving Bode Miller an ultimatum

By Published On: January 14th, 2006Comments Off on U.S. Ski Team coaches giving Bode Miller an ultimatum

U.S. Ski Team coaches giving Bode Miller an ultimatum{mosimage}[This article, first published Jan. 10, has not been changed since then, but the story behind it sure has. Click here for the inside story.]

The head coach of the U.S. men’s ski team said Tuesday that Bode Miller could be excluded from the team if he doesn’t distance himself from comments about drinking and skiing.

‘It’s grown to a place where it’s no longer about being opinionated and outspoken’ McNichol told The Associated Press. ‘It’s about how much do I really want to be here.’

Alpine director Jesse Hunt was en route to Wengen on Tuesday when Ski Racing reached him by cell phone.

“At the end of the day, whether a skier is a star or not, they have to be prepared to live within the values of the team,” said Hunt.

The coaches’ hardline is only the latest in the strange fallout from comments Miller made in on the CBS News program “60 Minutes.”

McNichol said Miller needs to ask if the ‘values and methods and image and the methodology’ of the U.S. Ski Team are something he is ‘proud of and wants to be a part of.’

McNichol was visibly drained Tuesday when he visited reporters in the Wengen press room. ‘There’s been an overwhelming response of ‘Is this the poster child you want for your organization,’ ” he said.

Asked if he thought the U.S. Ski Team was overreacting, he said the team had failed to react to a lot of things in the past, and suffered because of it.

‘It’s important in an individual sport to have an individual approach’ said McNichol, ‘[but] to be part of an organization like the United States Ski Team, there’s quite a bit of obligation and understanding of this system of how it works and who does what, what needs to get done and it’s not doing it on your own.’

[This article, first published Jan. 8, has not been changed since then, but the story behind it sure has. Click here for the inside story.]

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About the Author: Pete Rugh