Sasha Cohen's Reaction to Michelle Kwan's Withdrawal

sk8addict · Feb 14, 2006

Sasha

Piel said:
She should know better. I'm sure her parents taught her to be more polite than she was. I guess I am wrong because I expected her to show the manners I credited her family with teaching her. My mistake for giving them so much credit.

Like I said I don't expect anything more out of her than I do my girls or my nieces. My mother thought she was rude and she could care less about Sasha or Kwan so I think she was being objective.

Shasa should have said "well she hasn't trained seriously since 2003 & tried to get ready for the olympics in 9 months & her old out of shape body just wouldn't hold up" That's what Dick Button said! Instead Sasha has talked about injuries being part of the sport & she wished Michelle a speedy recovery. You all are taking things out of context & being judgemental about an edited film. It is making me sick. What a bunch of spiteful, hateful. sad people you are.

#1Kerryfan · Feb 14, 2006

SkateFan4Life said:
Yesterday's news included a rather curious piece of footage showing a press conference in Torino in which, among other things, Sasha Cohen was asked to give her thoughts on the withdrawal of her Olympic teammate, Michelle Kwan, from the women's figure skating competition.

Cohen stared at the reporters with an annoyed expression for a few seconds before she responded. She said (to paraphrase), "I think this just brings a human element to the competition."

Without being critical, I would have thought that Sasha could have said something like, "I'm sorry to hear the news about Michelle's withdrawal, and I wish her the best. I hope she recovers quickly and returns to the ice soon."
Instead, she did not offer any personal wishes for Michelle's health, no expression of sympathy, and no acknowledgement of the fact that Michelle will be missed at the Olympics.

Of course, it's possible that Sasha did make such comments, but they were not aired. However, given her penchant for being totally self-absorbed (almost narcissist), I guess it would be too much for her to show any compassion for anyone else.

Perhaps Cohen was irked that the NBC television cameras did not pan on HER during the opening ceremonies as they did in Salt Lake. The cameras panned on Michelle throughout the ceremony - marching into the stadium, watching the program, but not Sasha. And, of course, Sasha did not have the opportunity to pass her cell phone to the President of Italy.

Perhaps Cohen was irked that, again, Michelle will be the star of the ladies competition - at least as far as her absence is concerned.

Perhaps Cohen was irked with the realization that the press will probably focus on Emily Hughes, 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah's younger sister, who will replace Michelle. Unlike Sasha, Emily seems to be open, friendly, cheerful, and articulate.

I think that's a little over the edge. Can you find anything nice to say about Sasha?

jenaj · Feb 14, 2006

Dee4707 said:
Why would you write such things about Sasha. I think her comment was perfectly acceptable.
Dee

The goal of dealing with the press in a case like this is to give an answer that will cast Sasha in the best light. As long as she says something nice about Michelle, no one can criticize her. It will also make the questions stop, because the press is interested in controversy, not niceness. Sasha's public relations skills aren't as awful as someone like Tara Lipinski's, but they could use a little work, especially since she aspires to be a celebrity as well as a skater.

millie · Feb 14, 2006

What this all boils down to is that Michelle is injured and out of the the OlympicsIGod bless her heart). The Kwan fans have nothing to do now only put down Sasha and the other skaters. They have nothing else to crow about and they are putting their flustrations out on Sasha because of silly fluff piece done by Katie Couric (you could see by the way she interviewed Sasha, that she was bias). Sasha was on Access Hollywood last night with Billy Bush, none of this bias reporting like Katie.

Get on with! It's no good to cry over spilled milk. We are only:banging:

Over and out! Of to watch the Men's short.

#1Kerryfan · Feb 14, 2006

millie said:
What this all boils down to is that Michelle is injured and out of the the OlympicsIGod bless her heart). The Kwan fans have nothing to do now only put down Sasha and the other skaters. They have nothing else to crow about and they are putting their flustrations out on Sasha because of silly fluff piece done by Katie Couric (you could see by the way she interviewed Sasha, that she was bias). Sasha was on Access Hollywood last night with Billy Bush, none of this bias reporting like Katie.

Get on with! It's no good to cry over spilled milk. We are only:banging:

Over and out! Of to watch the Men's short.

You are right about that. Come on guys, we're all friends! We have the Men's, Dance, and Ladies events to look forward to, and we can talk about how cool they were nonstop!

sk8addict · Feb 14, 2006

friends?

#1Kerryfan said:
You are right about that. Come on guys, we're all friends! We have the Men's, Dance, and Ladies events to look forward to, and we can talk about how cool they were nonstop!

Sorry, but you are mistaken. We are not all friends.

Mathman · Feb 14, 2006

Maybe not, but I am friends with #1Kerryfan.

Dee4707 · Feb 14, 2006

Mathman said:
Maybe not, but I am friends with #1Kerryfan.

I really, really, really want to be your friend Math!!! :love:

Dee

Mathman · Feb 14, 2006

Dee, just for you I am going to root for Sasha to come out on top!

Dee4707 · Feb 14, 2006

Oh..........and I almost forgot...........would you please do this Math

Dee

Mathman · Feb 14, 2006

Here's my

Dee.

diver chick · Feb 14, 2006

I don't really understand what all the fuss is about to be honest. I didn't see the interview in question but having read through this thread and read what she is supposed to have said I really can't see why people are getting worked up to the point of insulting each other about it.

I don't think what she said was rude at all, now how she said is another question entirely but one which I can't answer as I didn't see it. I think that what she siad was a very tactful way of saying that injuries are an inherent part of the sport and when a skater is forced out of comepition as a result of injury it makes all athletes stop and think that it could just as easily be them, but at the end of the day that's life and one just has to move on. She appears sympathetic towards Michelles plight without being gushing and over the top which would only come accross as false in my opinion as everyone knows they are not bosom buddies. And from what some people have said, she wished Michelle a speedy recovery. I for one don't think there was anything rude in that at all.

The tone of voice, body language and attitude may all of course change the whole context and meaning, but on the face of it, I have no problems with what she said.

Oh and I am neither a Sasha nor a Michelle fan, I will be rooting for Kostner, Arakawa and Poykio so these opinions are not influenced by my like or dislike of either skater.

swannanoa54 · Feb 14, 2006

sk8addict said:
Shasa should have said "well she hasn't trained seriously since 2003 & tried to get ready for the olympics in 9 months & her old out of shape body just wouldn't hold up" That's what Dick Button said! Instead Sasha has talked about injuries being part of the sport & she wished Michelle a speedy recovery. You all are taking things out of context & being judgemental about an edited film. It is making me sick. What a bunch of spiteful, hateful. sad people you are.

Would you care to point out where Dick Button said that? I've watched Olympic Ice every day and never heard him say anything closely resembling that kind of remark.

sk8rmommy, hate to burst your bubble, but I have never wished harm on anyone, enemy or otherwise. I've wished they'd go away but I've done that to their faces except for one online person because I've never met the person, but I've never wished for anyone to get hurt or anything like that. Doesn't make me saint either. Makes me very outspoken in my feelings when someone ticks me off or gets on my last good nerve. :biggrin:

From a different perspective, if you look at it from a "non-fan" viewpoint, Kwan and Cohen fans never cut the other skater any slack. And I'm not talking about ALL Kwan fans or ALL Cohen fans. There seems to be a slight few who just bristle at whatever comes out of Kwan's mouth or Cohen's mouth. Me, I bristle at whatever comes out of my mouth sometimes. :rofl:

But hey, I mean it when I say it. :rofl:

purplecat · Feb 14, 2006

I still don't see how anything Sasha said in either interview could be considered rude or bad manners. But what do I know? That's just my opinion. Of course I consider myself to have great manners which is why I'm giving a virtual hug to Kwan fans everywhere who must be suffering, especially Mathman

I know what it feels like and I feel your pain.

And please everyone stop putting all the skaters under a microscope analyzing every single syllable out of their mouths, every facial expression, etc. Can't we just enjoy the skating?

R.D. · Feb 14, 2006

So suppose she declined the interview...i.e. opted not to talk about it at all. That was an option. No one could have said anything...nothing could backfire. Or would people have said the same thing, i.e. she should come out and say something about MK?

Broken record, yes, but I bet if MK made the same comments about someone else, this discussion would be moot.

sk8rmommy · Feb 14, 2006

Swannanoa54,

Not to burst your bubble, but I just wanted to clarify that I never said I had secretly wished physical harm on anyone in order to get ahead.

The term I used was 'misfortune'....and unfortunately many accomplishments in life come at the expense of someone else's misfortune whether it be a job promotion/raise, getting the highest marks in class, winning a race etc.

slutskayafan21 · Feb 14, 2006

I dont believe Sasha said anything inappropriate or disrespectful of Kwan, but I think SkateFan4Life has a point that she could have gone out of her way to be a bit more complimentary and generous in her words towards Kwan, and payed some tribute to her career and what she has meant to the sport, especialy in the U.S. Then again on the other hand it is well known she and Kwan have never been bosom buddies, and perhaps she felt she would have been being insincere anyway so best just to give a subdued answer and be real without being rude.

curious · Feb 14, 2006

Well it seems that Sasha can't have her moment in the spotlight without the usual michell's health problems questions lol! The same thing happened at nats. Is so very ridiculous and upsetting to her,but she can't do anything about it just concentrate on her skating :biggrin:

sk8addict · Feb 14, 2006

Button

swannanoa54 said:
Would you care to point out where Dick Button said that? I've watched Olympic Ice every day and never heard him say anything closely resembling that kind of remark.

sk8rmommy, hate to burst your bubble, but I have never wished harm on anyone, enemy or otherwise. I've wished they'd go away but I've done that to their faces except for one online person because I've never met the person, but I've never wished for anyone to get hurt or anything like that. Doesn't make me saint either. Makes me very outspoken in my feelings when someone ticks me off or gets on my last good nerve.

From a different perspective, if you look at it from a "non-fan" viewpoint, Kwan and Cohen fans never cut the other skater any slack. And I'm not talking about ALL Kwan fans or ALL Cohen fans. There seems to be a slight few who just bristle at whatever comes out of Kwan's mouth or Cohen's mouth. Me, I bristle at whatever comes out of my mouth sometimes. But hey, I mean it when I say it.

Dick Button said that Michelle is 25 years old, That she has not competed for awhile. That she's been trying to learn new moves like spins & footwork for COP & that her body just was not up to the challenge. He is not just reporting for Olympic Ice.

Peggy · Feb 14, 2006

Red Dog said:
So suppose she declined the interview...i.e. opted not to talk about it at all. That was an option. No one could have said anything...nothing could backfire. Or would people have said the same thing, i.e. she should come out and say something about MK?

Broken record, yes, but I bet if MK made the same comments about someone else, this discussion would be moot.

ITA,
This would not be talked about if Michelle's comments had been the same as Sasha's. I've never liked Katie because of her underhanded way of creating controversy. I really don't see any problem with Sasha's comment. Sasha's only problem is she is not media savvy and doesn't know how to gush on command.
I was amazed that Emily didn't get torn apart when she said she was excited about hearing Michelle had to withdraw. But then again, she is not Sasha.

Sasha Cohen's Reaction to Michelle Kwan's Withdrawal

sk8addict

#1Kerryfan

jenaj

millie

#1Kerryfan

sk8addict

Mathman

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin

Mathman

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin

Mathman

diver chick

swannanoa54

purplecat

R.D.

sk8rmommy

slutskayafan21

Match Penalty

curious

sk8addict

Peggy

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