Tonight, in a stunning turn of events, a champion lost his crown in full view of the audience. Outsmarted by a veteran from a rival camp, the race unfolded dramatically in the packed pool arena. Amid the applause, some spectators faced criticism for breaching the professional decorum of the sport. Caeleb Dressel, unable to defend his 50m free Olympic title, finished in a surprising 6th place, trailing far behind the new champion, Cameron McEvoy. The unexpected result left everyone, including Dressel himself, in disbelief at this penultimate moment.

So after losing the race, the 8-time Olympic medalist tried to find shelter on the support staff’s shoulder. Meanwhile, the cameras captured him crying profusely while the support staff was trying to calm him down. The live broadcasting of such an emotional scene did not bode well for several who took Caeleb Dressel away from the glances of cameras. Mike Tirico, the television presenter from NBC, meanwhile called out the entire situation, claiming, “good idea by those folks to get him [Dressel] to a place where he can deal with his emotions”. Nobody could deny that it had been a tough day for the 27-year-old. 

Last time at the Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb pierced through the pool to take the top podium. Meanwhile, his timing (21.07) stood to be the Olympic record. Since then, a lot of things have changed. He had to face a mental block and take an 8-month hiatus after the 2022 World Championships. After his comeback, Caeleb Dressel couldn’t recreate the magic that had been most usual for him. Meanwhile, in 2023, he failed to qualify for the USA team for the World Cup. However, this year, the swimmer felt a positive change in his swimming luck. Riding on that, he ultimately made it to his third Olympic endeavor. 

Yet Caeleb’s today’s loss went deeper, as among the diverse events he masters, the 50m free stands to be his trademark. In the post-match conversation, the grief of losing the event was evident in his words as he said, “It hasn’t been my best week. I don’t think I need to shy away from that.” On that note, the emotional storm Caleb felt today is an example of misfortune. And his fans did not want it to be prolonged. That’s why they protested against broadcasting all those emotional outpourings. 

Fans justify why Caeleb Dressel’s weeping did not need to be hyped

Almost every fan admitted that watching their idol sob for more than 5 minutes on TV had never been a good option. Therefore, the channel companies should restrain themselves from showing such content on the live broadcast. One such fan argued, “Dawg. Seeing Caeleb Dressel cry like that on tv was tough. After the Aliyah Boston incident and this one, I’m a firm believer that we (the audience) never need to see that.” Furthermore, the display of such private moments could dishonor the legend. 

One swimming follower protested vehemently against the broadcasters. The comment remained as “Is there a reason why @NBCSports has to focus a close-camera on American swimmer Caeleb Dressel for seems like 10 minutes as he sobs at his loss? Have some respect @NBCSports !” The plea for keeping the respect of the legend echoed in another fan’s statement as it reads, “@NBCOlympics How about y’all have some respect for the athletes like Caeleb Dressel and don’t take advantage of his disappointment.  Don’t leave the camera on him for multiple minutes.  Dang.” Meanwhile, another fan tried to elevate the humanity part. For every human, to relish emotion is the universal right age. Nobody can snatch that from any of the people. 

The backing comment remained, “Hey real quick- it’s fine for grown men to cry. It’s fine for humans to cry. Weird and exploitative for the NBC team to zoom in and stay on Caeleb Dressel processing extreme emotions but it’s extremely normal to cry. Ok thanks.” After facing such criticism, the broadcasting company might make changes to the policy.