Todd Richards apologized to anyone who found his take disrespectful, but said he stood by his assessment
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2259859213-ea3c2538408a45dfa52cbf37c85150fa.jpg "Oliver Martin (United States of America) competes during the big air snowboard competition on Day 1 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on February 7, 2026 in Livigno, Italy.")
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NEED TO KNOW
- Olympics broadcaster Todd Richards was caught on hot mic calling the men’s snowboarding big air final “so boring”
- He apologized to anyone who found his take disrespectful, but said he stands by his assessment
- Richards said he thought the qualifier “was way more exciting”
NBC Sports broadcaster Todd Richards was hoping for a little more razzle dazzle at the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s snowboard big air final — and accidentally let the whole world know thanks to a hot mic moment.
Richards was on the air for the final on Saturday, Feb. 7, during which Japanese snowboarder Kira Kimura won gold and American Ollie Martin, 17, finished in fourth.
“That was boring. That was so boring,” Richards, who thought he was off the air, was heard saying on the broadcast. “The qualifier was way more exciting.”
And Richards, an Olympic snowboarder who competed in Nagano in 1998, stood by his assessment in an Instagram video he posted shortly after. Though the commentator apologized to anyone who found his take disrespectful, Richards explained that it had nothing to do with the athletes themselves.
“I feel like I should address an elephant in the room here,” he said. “I did think the qualifiers were more exciting. This had nothing to do with the athletes themselves, it had everything to do with the drama that went down in the qualifiers.”
Richards, who praised gold medalist Kimura’s performance as “unbelievable,” said that the Feb. 5 qualifiers were simply more exciting, as they included the story of Australian Val Guseli getting called up to the team just hours before the event, and creative tricks like like butters off the lip.
“In the final, a lot of people fell. And a lot of people truly did the same trick. It was a backside 1980 and a switch backside 1980 the entire time,” he said. “It had nothing to do with what these athletes do because the riders come out here and they throw down. I have the utmost respect for them…. I thought the qualifier had a lot more excitement. So I apologize if anyone took that as I was calling out any of the riders here, because it truly wasn’t about that. These guys are my heroes. They are my friends. They are my colleagues and they are all rippers.”
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Richards gave a special shoutout to Martin, saying he “tried so hard” and “came in clutch,” but was ultimately bumped off the podium by China’s Su Yiming.
In the caption of his post, Richards explained that his “boring” comment was “nothing I wouldn't say to a reporter or in public.”
“It was my opinion based on what I saw in the qualifier vs the final medal round,” he wrote. “Not one word I said had anything to do with a rider in this event. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say that, but I am. They all rule.”
The women’s snowboard big air qualification run is set for Sunday, Feb. 8 in Livigno.
To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.
