Why Do Olympic Snowboarders Hate Shaun White?

(CBS) It's been an adventure for famous Team USA snowboarder Shaun White at the Sochi Olympics.

After citing injury risk in pulling out of the slopestyle competition  -- a decision that drew criticism from some -- White fell short in his quest for a third consecutive gold medal in the halfpipe, taking fourth place Tuesday afternoon. In the aftermath, it doesn't sound like anyone in his sport felt sorry for him.

That's because "fellow snowboarders ... by and large, hate Shaun White," according to a Slate article.

"Even though White is perhaps the best—and certainly the best-known—snowboarder in the world, he has never fit in with the sport's mellow bro culture, in which everyone gets along and it's gauche to admit that you care about victory," authors Justin Peters and Josh Levin wrote.

An earlier New York Times Magazine profile of White had said other snowboarders "resented White for snubbing them, not even pretending they were all friends, an attitude that is central to snowboarding's self-concept."

The Slate piece added that before the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, White was criticized for refusing to let other snowboarders train on the expensive halfpipe that was built for him by one of his corporate sponsors.

"The whole snowboarding community doesn't really like Shaun," American snowboarder Brandon Davis recently told Time. "He's apart from everyone. He's the lone wolf."