NBCUniversal Issues Apology for Misgendering Transgender Olympian Elis Lundholm
NBCUniversal has formally apologized after a commentator repeatedly misgendered Swedish skier Elis Lundholm during its coverage of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Lundholm, a transgender man who uses he/him pronouns, made history as the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Winter Games.
Incident During Women's Moguls Qualifiers
On Tuesday, a commentator on an international feed aired on Peacock used incorrect pronouns to refer to Lundholm as he competed in the women's moguls qualifiers in Livigno, Italy. The commentator was not named on the feed, and Outsports was the first to report the news. In response, an NBC representative stated, "NBC Sports takes this matter seriously. Today we streamed an international feed with non-NBCUniversal commentators who misgendered Olympian Elis Lundholm. We apologize to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed."
Initially, the feed remained available on NBC's website on Wednesday, as noted by Them magazine, but it has since been scrubbed from NBC's Olympics replay schedule. It is unclear who was involved in producing the feed on Peacock, although Outsports highlighted that the public address announcer on site in Livigno correctly used he/him pronouns for Lundholm during the competition.
Historical Context and Previous Controversies
This is not the first time NBC has faced criticism for misgendering athletes. During the 2021 Tokyo Games, commentators misgendered Team USA skateboarder Alana Smith, who became the first openly non-binary athlete to compete at the Olympics that year. Smith had written their pronouns—they/them—on their skateboard. A spokesperson for NBC Sports claimed that commentators Todd Harris and Paul Zitzer "used the correct pronouns" for Smith during coverage of the women's skateboarding street competition. However, video evidence shows they repeatedly misgendered the skateboarder, though Outsports noted the commentators were "apologetic and did correct themselves" afterward.
Lundholm's Perspective and Impact
Elis Lundholm is among more than 40 Olympians who are part of the LGBTQ+ community at this year's games, according to Autostraddle. In an interview with the Associated Press, Lundholm downplayed the significance of his historic participation, saying he hasn't "really thought about" it and that he is in Italy under the "same conditions as everyone else, so yeah, I'm just skiing." His focus remains on his performance, even as his presence highlights broader issues of inclusion and respect in sports broadcasting.
The incident underscores ongoing challenges in media coverage of transgender and non-binary athletes, prompting calls for improved training and protocols to prevent such errors in the future. NBCUniversal's apology and removal of the feed reflect a step toward accountability, but it also raises questions about the consistency of pronoun usage across international broadcasts.
