The CBC commentator Byron MacDonald said the following after a Chinese swimmer started out very fast and inevitably slowed down during sprint (the whole story):
The little 14-year-old from China dropped the ball, baby. Too excited, went out like stink, died like a pig. Thanks for that.
Many native speakers argue that it is quite normal for a sports commentator to say that. Is it offensive in any way?
To be specific, I have no problem interpreting "die" as slow down, but do "like stink" and "like a pig" have negative connotations? Or do they simply mean very rapid and very slow?
No. As a native American English speaker, I find the comment highly offensive and hope that Mr. MacDonald apologizes for his choice of words. I understand that in the heat of the moment we sometimes get excited and say things we later regret, but there is no excuse for that type of commentary, not to mention the utter absurdity of his wildly mixed metaphors. It's simply bad (and shameful) English. – Mark Hubbard 2 hours ago