A former member of Shaun White's band settled a lawsuit with the snowboarder in 2016, and what she alleges does not paint White in a very positive light. In fact, to be frank, it makes him sound like a perverted scumbag. The exact OPPOSITE of the kind of person we should be celebrating, especially in the era of the #MeToo movement, where women finally feel like they can speak out about sexual harassment, assault, and misconduct.
With that as a back drop, and keeping in mind, White won gold for the 3rd time in the Olympics hours prior to this line of questioning, do you feel like this exchange was appropriate given the time and place?
“Shaun, over the past couple of days, the sexual harassment allegations against you by Lena have resurfaced,” Gutman said, at which point White interjected to correct the pronunciation of her name.
“Are you concerned that they’re going to tarnish your legacy?” the reporter continued.
“You know, honestly, here to talk about the Olympics,” White said, “not gossip. But I don’t think so. I am who I am, and I’m proud of who I am. And my friends love me and vouch for me. I think that stands on its own.”
“So you’re saying the allegations against you are gossip?” Gutman asked.
That’s when Nick Alexakos, a spokesman for the U.S. snowboarding team who was running the news conference, jumped in. “I think we’re here to talk about the gold medal and the amazing day we had today,” he said. “Thank you. So if you don’t have another question, why don’t we go ahead and pass the mic?”
“I’d like it to be addressed just a little bit,” Gutman said.
Alexakos started to respond, but White leaned into the microphone.
“I feel like I addressed it,” he said.
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