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'Shame on you': Broadcaster savaged over shocking Patty Mills gaffe

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read
Patty Mills and Cate Campbell, pictured here carrying the flag for Australia at the opening ceremony.
Patty Mills and Cate Campbell carried the flag for Australia at the opening ceremony. (Photo by Michael Kappeler/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A number of TV broadcasters around the world have come under fire for their coverage of the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night.

Canadian broadcaster CBC copped heat from Aussie fans after mistaking flag-bearer Patty Mills for a woman.

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Basketball star Mills carried the Aussie flag jointly with swimmer Cate Campbell, with Mills becoming the first Indigenous athlete from Australia to receive the honour.

However his moment was ruined by a Canadian commentator who thought Mills was a woman.

“And you know what, I think they had two women carry the flag," the commentator for CBC said.

"Cate Campbell the swimmer and Patty Mills the basketball player."

His co-commentator added: “That’s how you do it, that’s how you do it.”

Considering Mills is a household name in North America due to his exploits in the NBA, the gaffe was particularly baffling.

Fans were quick to call out the shocking error on social media.

Mills and Campbell led a 63-strong Australian contingent at the opening ceremony, while hundreds more teammates watched from around the world.

The pair, ahead of their fourth Olympic campaigns, shared the honours on Friday night after the International Olympic Committee permitted countries to choose two flag-bearers.

Wearing shorts and short-sleeve button-up shirts with ties, they walked into a near-empty stadium - with only several hundred dignitaries and fellow athletes there to acknowledge.

Australia's chef de mission Ian Chesterman, deputy chef de mission and three-time Olympian Susie O'Neill walked behind them, along with Sam Stosur competing in her fifth Olympics and Melissa Wu and Joe Ingles in their fourth.

They were followed by Olympians in order of their Olympic appearances, with Mills' Boomers teammates and the Opals forming a bulk of the marching squad.

Patty Mills, pictured here becoming the first Indigenous athlete to carry the Australian flag.
Patty Mills became the first Indigenous athlete to carry the Australian flag. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Korean broadcast slammed over 'inappropriate' imagery

Meanwhile, the vitriol for the Canadian broadcast wasn't nearly as bad as that for a South Korean one.

MBC was forced to apologise for using “totally inappropriate” graphics during Friday night's opening ceremony.

The broadcast displayed an image of Chernobyl when Ukraine was introduced, while Haitian athletes were accompanied by a caption that said: “The political situation is fogged by the assassination of the president.”

The Korean broadcast, pictured here using a photo of Chernobyl for Ukraine.
The Korean broadcast used a photo of Chernobyl for Ukraine. Image: Twitter

An image of a pizza accompanied the Italian athletes, while El Salvador received a photo of Bitcoin.

MBC later apologised after widespread backlash.

"In today’s Opening Ceremony broadcast, inappropriate photos were used when introducing countries like Ukraine and Haiti," they said.

"Also, inappropriate photos and subtitles were used for other countries. We apologise to the viewers of Ukraine and other countries."

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