by Lynette Alice

Created on: February 23, 2010   Last Updated: February 24, 2010

Johnny Weir has not had the best Olympic experience by many accounts. He didn't win a medal, and he didn't even really come close although he skated well and was entertaining to watch. People from PETA Wanted his head because he wore fur. Until he entered the men's free skating event he was only being talked about for his somewhat outrageous outfits and some rather odd quotes that crossed his lips at the Winter Olympic games.

What happened when Weir took the ice never should have. The commentators, Alain Goldberg and Claude Mailhot, who were doing the broadcast in French for RDS decided they were comedians. if they were funny it would be one thing, but they didn't come across that way. The way they came across was deliberately hurtful and hateful and there was no good reason for it. What makes it worse that is that Mailhot even remarked what he was about to say was probably inappropriate, but said went right ahead and said it anyway. 

Mailhot kicked things off by criticizing Weirs outfit which was a bit "foofy" because it was black and - gasp - pink! It was too sheer, too feminine, and entirely wrong for a man. Goldberg couldn't help jumping on the bandwagon saying that Weir was a bad example of an athlete in me;s figure skating because people will see him and "They'll think all the boys who skate will end up like him." If it stopped there it would have still been bad, but they couldn't help but push the envelope further. Mailhot asked Goldberg if maybe Weir lost points for for being too feminine regarding his movements on the ice, and again - that costume has pink in it! He just wasn't a manly enough figure skater to satisfy the pair even though figure skating has rarely been known for manly men.

Perhaps as many suggested people were being overly sensitive about the remarks and it was a one time incident that went a little too far. Those people would be wrong. it was not the first time in the Winter Olympics that Goldberg and Mailhot attacked the masculinity - or as they saw it lack thereof - of Johnny Weir. Earlier, Goldberg and Mailhot began suggesting that maybe Weir wasn't a man at all. To make matters worse they started comparing him to Caster Semnaya who many recall lost her medals and records when she was diagnosed with an intersex condition she wasn't even aware before she began competing. Goldberg remarked that "We should make him (Weir) pass a gender test at this point." Mailhot chimed in that Weir should be competing in the women's event. Any

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