The Truth: Bode Miller

In 2005, Miller won the overall World Cup title. Since then, the outspoken racer has been embroiled in controversy and has gone independent. Here’s why.

I DON’T MIND TALKING. I’ll do interviews. But I don’t have to enjoy them.

THE 60 MINUTES STORY was supposed to be about this kid from New Hampshire who makes the Olympics and is a role model and all this stuff, and they promote it by saying “Olympic athlete admits to skiing drunk. For one thing, it was a clear misquote. I didn’t admit to skiing drunk; I hadn’t had a drink for hours before that race.

I DON’T SAY A LOT WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT FIRST. The 60 Minutes thing didn’t really catch me by surprise. I knew what the fallout would be.

SKIERS ARE NOTORIOUS FOR PARTYING. The CEO of our team, Bill Marolt, missed his Olympic slalom in ’54 or whatever because he was in jail. They went out and got hammered and stole a car and got arrested. That’s the guy who flew over to Europe and was like, “We’re coming down on Bode.*

I HAVE TO DEAL WITH A LOT OF THINGS, especially considering my personality. Being the top guy on the team, it was really hard for me to sit back. I pulled in a lot of our sponsors, I took a lot of the heat from the media, and I kind of got thrown under the bus by my team.

I AM TAKING MORE RESPONSIBILITY. I’m not invested in the number of wins I get, but I am absolutely invested in my lifestyle and my approach and the energy I put in. That’s my life. Why wouldn’t I be invested in it?

THOSE THINGS DON’T NECESSARILY CORRESPOND. Sometimes you put in good energy and you get shit.

THE TEAM WOULDN’T LET ME SLEEP in the motor home. They really made it difficult for me to run the program the way I needed to in order to raise my game so I can do shit that’s never been done before. They were restricting me at every turn. For me to just suck it up and deal with it for a year, knowing how stubborn I am, was exceptional. That’s something I take pride in.

IT’S ABOUT MORE THAN JUST WINNING. You want an inspirational performance.

YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN. I mean, if everyone else crashes, you win.

*Editor’s Note: After we attempted to contact Bill Marolt directly to verify this quote, U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association public relations director Juliann Fritz responded, saying, “Bill was involved in an incident of allegedly stealing a car with a group of athletes during the 1964 Olympics. Those charges were dropped when it was determined that they had authority to drive the vehicle. Bill had not qualified for the slalom, so it did not impact him in competition. He only qualified to compete in giant slalom and he did compete. Fritz later added, “The incident did involve alcohol and Bill was one of three athletes arrested. A 1964 New York Times story confirms that Marolt was arrested for stealing a car and disturbing the peace after leading Austrian police on a 15-minute chase through the streets of Innsbruck.