TL;DR

• NBC commentators repeatedly misgendered trans Olympian Elis Lundholm during the women’s moguls qualifiers.
• NBC apologized, removed the livestream replay, and clarified the commentators were from an international feed.
• Lundholm competes in the women’s category under International Ski Federation rules.
• NBC has a history of misgendering athletes, including nonbinary Olympian Alana Smith in 2021.
• The controversy comes amid rising global attacks on trans athletes’ participation.

NBC is backpedaling faster than a skier on a double-black-diamond after its commentators repeatedly misgendered Elis Lundholm, the history-making trans Olympian representing Sweden in the women’s moguls competition at the Milano Cortina Games.

During Lundholm’s February 10 qualifying run, a commentator on Peacock’s livestream referred to him as “she” multiple times — even while the arena announcer at the event used the correct pronouns. Instead of celebrating Lundholm as the first trans man ever to compete in the Winter Olympics, viewers were left grinding their teeth as the broadcast bungled basic respect.

The misgendering wasn’t subtle either. During a stumble on the slope, the commentator added:
“Oh she just skids out of that gate…”
And on it went, mistake after mistake, overshadowing the athlete’s performance with a preventable and deeply frustrating error.

After LGBTQ outlets — notably Outsports — called attention to the incident, NBC finally responded with an apology.
In their statement:
“NBC Sports takes this matter seriously… We apologize to Elis and our viewers, and we have removed the replay of that feed.”

The network stressed that the misgendering came from an international commentary feed, not their in-house announcers. Still, for a media giant that has already faced backlash for misgendering nonbinary skateboarder Alana Smith during the 2021 Olympics, “wrong feed” feels like an excuse, not a defense.

Why Lundholm Is Competing in the Women’s Category

Under International Ski Federation (FIS) rules, athletes must compete based on their registered sex unless they meet specific medical-transition criteria. Lundholm has not begun a masculinizing hormone regimen, meaning he is required to compete in the women’s category even though he publicly uses he/him pronouns.

It’s a maddeningly outdated system — one that trans athletes navigate while being watched, judged, and often targeted by critics inside and outside the sports world.

And let’s be honest: if sports bodies spent half as much time understanding gender as they do policing it, maybe we wouldn’t still be having these problems in 2026.

A Pattern That Needs Breaking

NBC’s track record isn’t helping. Their previous misgendering of Alana Smith became a symbol of how media outlets still lag behind the moment when it comes to treating trans athletes with respect.

This time, instead of simply accepting a corporate “oops,” fans and advocates are demanding actual accountability — training, standards, and systems that prevent misgendering before it airs to millions of viewers.

The International Olympic Committee isn’t exactly offering a supportive backdrop either. IOC President Kirsty Coventry has already signaled interest in banning trans women from women’s events and potentially reviving sex testing — a practice that harmed generations of gender-nonconforming athletes.

In other words: the global climate around trans athletes is only getting colder. And media mistakes like this one do real harm.