Olympian Father Makes His Son Run Up A Hill As Punishment For 'Quitting On His Soccer Team During His First Game'

Do you think this was a fair response?

By Jessica Bracken — Written on Jun 01, 2023

Photo: Instagram

Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller proved that he is one tough parent after he shared the "consequences" he enforced on his young son after the boy quit his sports team.

Miller, a Team USA alpine ski racer, is a father to 8 kids ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years old so he knows a thing or two about raising kids but this particular parenting tactic has bewildered some people.

Olympian athlete Bode Miller posted a video of his son running up a hill after ‘quitting on his soccer team.’

In the video, Miller’s son is shown running uphill while Miller follows behind him in a car, filming. "After quitting on his soccer team during his first game of the year, I let him run the hill. Enforcing consequences isn’t my favorite part of parenting, but learning from them is important," Miller explains in the caption, doubling down on the importance of the lesson.

“This was about so much more than a game of soccer.” Miller wrote. “It’s about teaching our kids never to quit.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bode Miller (@millerbode)

Some concerned Instagram users didn’t agree with Miller’s post, eventually leading Miller to turn the comments off. “For those who are concerned, the hill running was his idea. He said he didn’t run during the game,” Miller stated in his caption.

While the comments on Miller’s post were removed, outlets like People preserved some of the comments in their stories on the subject.

Commenters had strong reactions to the post, whether they approved of Miller’s parenting methods or not.

One comment read “I commend you Bode — he was part of a team & others were counting on him, especially during the game. There are consequences in life — we don’t always get what we want. He may not like it now — but we will learn responsibility.”

Others had more extreme reactions, calling the post “insane,” “abusive,” and “bullying behavior.”

“Kids are their own people that are growing into adulthood. They are not your vessel to fulfill your own personal expectations. Get it through your thick skulls that your kid will not be a pro athlete or a Harvard graduate and that is perfectly fine. As long as they are good people.” said one commenter.

The former athlete and his wife Morgan Miller, a pro beach volleyball player, are parents to sons Nash, 7, Easton, 4, twin boys Asher and Aksel, 3, and a daughter Scarlet, 18 months. The couple also shares daughter Emeline, who died in an accidental drowning in a neighbor’s pool at 19 months old.