TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 26: Alana Smith of Team United States reacts during the Women’s Street Prelims Heat 3 on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
(Picture: Getty Images)Sports commentators Todd Harris and Paul Zitzer from NBC Sports and Marc Churchill and Ed Leigh from the BBC repeatedly misgendered the first non-binary Olympian Alana Smith throughout their commentary.
However, Smith’s pronouns were displayed on their skateboard and a pin on their shirt.
The 20-year-old represented the US in the women’s skateboarding street event on Sunday at the Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Alana Smith with They/Them on their board at the Olympics pic.twitter.com/a5FtWqME8g
— Jen J Walker (@MsJenJWalker) July 26, 2021
Responding to the error, US-based trans journalist Britni de la Cretaz didn’t hesitate to call them out for “journalistic malpractice.”
This is journalistic malpractice. No one should have to be misgendered on an international stage like this. Sports doesn’t know what to do with non-binary athletes.
— Britni de la Cretaz (@britnidlc) July 26, 2021
Shoutout to Alana Smith, the first openly non-binary athlete to represent the U.S. in an Olympic Games. https://t.co/7ane16AcRf
Many people contacted analysts and broadcasters via social media in an attempt to get them to do more research on Alana and start using the proper pronouns.
Check out some of those comments.
It really is pretty garbage hearing NBC commentators repeatedly misgendering Alana Smith when they literally have they/them on their board. pic.twitter.com/q6aJqOPESb
— Erin, Sundresses Mom (@ErinInTheMorn) July 26, 2021
@BBCSport tell ur commentator to get alana’s pronouns right they use they/them pronouns. hope this helps :)
— femboy film studies (@femboyjamiee) July 26, 2021
@Tim_Warwood Marc churchill also needs to be informed if it was him commentating. Alana Smith was constantly misgendered last night. An apology would be great.
— Sian OLo (@SadBuoys) July 26, 2021
Stonewall, which also happens to be Europe’s largest LGBT+ charity, also called for “swift corrections” to be made by journalists.
Alana Smith (they/them), American pro-skater in the #Tokyo2020 Olympics has been repeatedly misgendered by journalists. We hope there will be swift corrections. All athletes deserve to be respected & celebrated as part of the games.#OlympicsForAll https://t.co/EO1JiHZOgT 💛🤍💜🖤
— Stonewall (@stonewalluk) July 27, 2021
Regrettably, it appears that this warning was not received by the commentators, as they continued to utilize the wrong pronouns.
The BBC hasn’t commented on the situation, but fellow BBC sports reporter Tim Warwood tweeted a response, believing that it was “a mistake,” and Churchill and Leigh would “apologise” if they had known.
It wasn’t myself commentating. I’m sure the boys would of course apologise to Alana. I hadn’t seen anything regarding gender and I’m 100% sure they hadn’t either. Hence the mistake.
— TIM WARWOOD (@Tim_Warwood) July 26, 2021
According to Out.com, NBC Sports released an official apology that said: “While our commentators used the correct pronouns in our coverage, we streamed an international feed that was not produced by NBCUniversal which misgendered Olympian Alana Smith. We regret this error and apologize to Alana and our viewers.”
Speaking to USA Skateboarding, Smith noted that they wanted to be recognized as a “good skater” and that they “made a difference”.
“Gender shouldn’t matter,” they added.
Ultimately, although there were high expectations to earn a medal at their first Olympics game, Smith didn’t qualify for the medal round.
They missed four of five landings in their two attempts, leading to scores of 1.25 in their final heats compared to Funa Nakayama, who won with scores of 15.77.
Despite this, it’s evident that Smith will continue making history as they continue their journey of growth and acceptance that inspires the masses.
