NBC presenter responds to 'sexism' backlash after ascribing Olympian Katinka Hosszu's win to her husband
NBC presenter Dan Hicks has come under fire after suggesting that an Olympic swimmer husband, rather than herself, was responsible for her gold medal.
NBC's Hicks came under fire for comments about swimmer Katinka Hosszú
Hungarian athlete Katinka Hosszú took home the gold gong for the 400-metre individual swim over the weekend, but Hicks remarked that her husband and coach Shane Tusup was the one behind her win.
As the camera panned in on Tusup hicks said: "There's the guy responsible for turning his wife into a whole different swimmer,” courting controversy on Twitter among sports fans.
Sigh. Katinka Hosszu obliterates the world record and NBC broadcaster Dan Hicks credits 'The man responsible' https://t.co/bbvjb8hEBY
— #TooFemale (@schemaly) August 7, 2016
After a woman just won a gold medal, announcer literally said, "And there's the man responsible," as camera showed her husband/coach.
— Elizabeth Picciuto (@epicciuto) August 7, 2016
"There's the man responsible for turning his wife into an entirely new swimmer..." REALLY, NBC?
— Charlotte Wilder (@TheWilderThings) August 7, 2016
Katinka Hosszu breaks world record for women's medley, #nbcolympics announcer credits husband as "the man responsible." Outrageous sexism.
— Deanna Zammit (@DeannaZammit) August 7, 2016
Can we PLEASE stop giving the husband/coach credit for Katinka Hosszú's gold and world record, thx. #nbcfail #Olympics
— Laura Helmuth (@laurahelmuth) August 7, 2016
Hicks has defended his comments, telling Associated Press: "It is impossible to tell Katinka's story accurately without giving appropriate credit to Shane, and that's what I was trying to do.”
He said that the swimmer had told him that she credited her American-born husband for improving her strength, training and confidence.
The commentator later acknowledged that with live TV "there are often times you look back and wished you had said things differently".
The Chicago Tribune also landed itself in hot water this weekend for referring to an Olympian medalist as a "wife" in a headline, sparking similar allegations of sexism.