Christin Cooper may have helped an NBC video go viral on Sunday night, but she didn't endear herself to Olympic television-watching fans.
Neither did NBC Olympics executive producer Jim Bell, whose comments about a televised interview that took place after Bode Miller earned a bronze medal for his performance in the in the men's super-G stirred more controversy.
Miller became the oldest alpine skier to medal during Sunday's race at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and became emotional with Cooper, who asked about his brother, Chilly.
Chilly died in April because of a seizure related to the traumatic injury he suffered in 2005.
Miller got more choked up about his brother when Cooper asked a second question about his brother. After Cooper's third question about Chilly, Miller leaned on a railing, head down, before he kneeled in a crawling position and did not finish the interview.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bell was rather unsympathetic toward the sentiment of the American television audience in his remarks about Cooper's handling of the interview - and somewhat condescending to the television audience.
"You'd be irresponsible not to tell that part of the story," Bell told reporters during a conference call Monday. "That's what we do."
"Some of the reaction to it we understand," Bell added. But most viewers were probably unaware of Miller's back story prior to the interview: "People don't know these athletes; they don't know their sports," Bell said.
Later, Bell added, "We're fine with it and the guy who was the interview subject was fine with it," Bell said. "So I think that should be the end of it."
Or maybe, Bell just wants it to go away.
The story received 132 comments on foxsports.com, the overwhelming majority criticizing Cooper for going too far.
A Los Angeles Times report put out a poll asking the fans' voice on the matter and more than 89 percent thought Cooper went too far. The poll included some 10,000 votes cast.
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