Olympics commentator Todd Richards is speaking out after a “hot mic” moment during the Men’s Big Air final sparked backlash online.
Richards, 56, went viral after viewers overheard him calling the competition “boring” while he believed the broadcast had cut to commercial. The comment aired as he and co-host Todd Harris were wrapping up coverage of the event.
“We just wrapped up the Men’s Big Air final — big shout-out to gold medalist Kira Kimora out of Japan, an unbelievable performance,” Richards said in a social media video posted Saturday, February 7. “But I feel like I should address the elephant in the room.”
Richards acknowledged the moment directly, explaining exactly what happened.
“There was a hot mic moment right after we thought we had gone off the air,” he said. “I turned to my cohost and said, ‘That was boring, that was so boring. I thought the qualifiers were better.’ And I did. I thought the qualifiers were more exciting.”
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During the broadcast, Richards could be heard saying, “That was boring, that was so boring. The qualifier was way more exciting,” a clip that quickly spread across social media.
Richards stressed that his comment was never meant as a shot at the athletes themselves.
“It had nothing to do with the riders,” he explained. “It had everything to do with the drama in the qualifiers. We had Val Guseli getting the call-up four hours before the event. We saw creative tricks, butters off the lip, different axis of rotation — riders really trying to push things.”
He contrasted that with the final, where he felt repetition played a role.
“In the final, a lot of people fell, and a lot of people did the same trick,” Richards said. “That’s not a knock on the athletes at all.”
The former professional snowboarder went on to apologize to anyone who felt the comment crossed a line.
“These guys are my heroes, my friends, my colleagues,” he said. “They’re all rippers. I have the utmost respect for them.”
Richards also praised Team USA snowboarder Ollie Martin, who finished fourth behind China’s Su Yiming, saying Martin pushed hard and just narrowly missed the podium.
“What a show,” Richards added. “We’ve got the women’s Big Air qualifier tomorrow, and I can’t wait.”
Interestingly, several athletes didn’t seem offended by the remark at all.
“Nah, pretty boring 😂 no need to explain,” wrote Val Guseli, 20, in the comments. “Every single rider in the finals could win on any night. Snowboarding’s getting real.”
Another rider, Charles Beckinsale, echoed the sentiment, saying Big Air events can struggle without more creative formats and bigger features.