UPDATE: Response from Adam Rippon
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBOYvhEMV0-/
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2002 Olympic Champion and 4 times World Champion Alexei Yagudin in his position as commentator for Channel One in Russia has had a recent history of personal attacks against other skaters, most of the time including inappropriate homophobic comments.
Here's what he recently had to say in an Instagram post (now removed) about Adam Rippon donating money to the Okra project.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZ7vr0BXgAAFoqn?format=jpg&name=large
Translation: "F*cik, Adam. When all of you will die? Earth’s mistake ."
Unfortunately this is only one of many comments he said or posted in the last year in particular (Jason Brown is often his main target), here's a summary of what he said in the past both on social media and during competitions:
1) Skate America 2019, Jason Brown is getting ready to perform his short program:
“Well, we can just borrow Jason’s time <and continue to talk about Dmitry Aliev’s skating> — it’s totally fine, ‘cause now he’s gonna only wave his legs in the air and… and nothing more, really.”
2) World Championships 2019, after Jason Brown’s short program: “His skating skills are amazing, he is a good skater, but nothing more. And thank God that apart from the short program we still have the free one, where without quad jumps he will finally be put in his proper place.”
3) World Championships 2019, Jason Brown’s free skating: “He is really like a glass of champagne with some lipstick on it” (a hint of his skating being “feminine”).
4) Free skating, Jason performed after Yuzuru Hanyu and Nathan Chen: “We really don’t care how Jason Brown will skate now. We can just sit back, relax, and watch it, since we had already have piece de resistance, and this is a sweet, soft ending of a banquet… like, you know, when you are already full, but there is still something on the table, and it’s just a pity to throw out.”
5) European Championships 2019, about Latvian athlete Deniss Vasiljevs short program: “You are a man, you compete in the men's singles discipline, so you have to jump <quads>. With content like that I’d lose junior world championships in 1997.”
6) World Championships 2019, after the free skate of Mikhail Kolyada, two-time Russian national champion: “I’d like to hear, ‘Forgive us, we’re ashamed’ from these people.”
7) “I don’t get it why people are suddenly standing up for Brown. He’s a f*gg*t who can’t even jump triples” — Mr. Yagudin reacted to this with the emoji picturing applause.
8) Instagram post: "Thank you everybody. Grand-Prix Final is very soon, we will support all of you. P. S. And thanks very much sergeyvoronov for "my favourite" Jason Brown didn't come to Grand Prix Final, or it would be a real SHAME."
9) Interview: "If I ever weigh a hundred kilos, I’ll shoot myself. It’s not a popular opinion these days, but I don’t think fat people are beautiful, and I’m convinced that you should fight your excess weight. Besides, it’s not even comfortable to be a fatty."
(Source)
How can ISU allow this sort of behaviour between negative attitudes towards worthy athletes and even down to personal attacks constantly violating professional ethics even during ISU competitions? one thing is to have an opinion about guys competing without performing quads (which we can agree or disagree), another is to attack so directly athletes for private matters.
This both damages the image of Channel One and ISU, it is sad to see Figure Skating competitions used as a platform to spread homophobia, hatred and fat shaming.
Last season Channel 1 was the only national TV-channel eligible to broadcast figure skating events in Russia, so for russian people they cannot even switch to another channel as he suggested in one of his comments.
Also worth noting that there is an ongoing petition against Yagudin, asking Russia management of sport broadcasting to remove him from his position of commentator.
https://www.change.org/p/первый-кан...нтирования-соревнований-по-фигурному-катанию?
What's your opinion on all of this?
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBOYvhEMV0-/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2002 Olympic Champion and 4 times World Champion Alexei Yagudin in his position as commentator for Channel One in Russia has had a recent history of personal attacks against other skaters, most of the time including inappropriate homophobic comments.
Here's what he recently had to say in an Instagram post (now removed) about Adam Rippon donating money to the Okra project.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZ7vr0BXgAAFoqn?format=jpg&name=large
Translation: "F*cik, Adam. When all of you will die? Earth’s mistake ."
Unfortunately this is only one of many comments he said or posted in the last year in particular (Jason Brown is often his main target), here's a summary of what he said in the past both on social media and during competitions:
1) Skate America 2019, Jason Brown is getting ready to perform his short program:
“Well, we can just borrow Jason’s time <and continue to talk about Dmitry Aliev’s skating> — it’s totally fine, ‘cause now he’s gonna only wave his legs in the air and… and nothing more, really.”
2) World Championships 2019, after Jason Brown’s short program: “His skating skills are amazing, he is a good skater, but nothing more. And thank God that apart from the short program we still have the free one, where without quad jumps he will finally be put in his proper place.”
3) World Championships 2019, Jason Brown’s free skating: “He is really like a glass of champagne with some lipstick on it” (a hint of his skating being “feminine”).
4) Free skating, Jason performed after Yuzuru Hanyu and Nathan Chen: “We really don’t care how Jason Brown will skate now. We can just sit back, relax, and watch it, since we had already have piece de resistance, and this is a sweet, soft ending of a banquet… like, you know, when you are already full, but there is still something on the table, and it’s just a pity to throw out.”
5) European Championships 2019, about Latvian athlete Deniss Vasiljevs short program: “You are a man, you compete in the men's singles discipline, so you have to jump <quads>. With content like that I’d lose junior world championships in 1997.”
6) World Championships 2019, after the free skate of Mikhail Kolyada, two-time Russian national champion: “I’d like to hear, ‘Forgive us, we’re ashamed’ from these people.”
7) “I don’t get it why people are suddenly standing up for Brown. He’s a f*gg*t who can’t even jump triples” — Mr. Yagudin reacted to this with the emoji picturing applause.
8) Instagram post: "Thank you everybody. Grand-Prix Final is very soon, we will support all of you. P. S. And thanks very much sergeyvoronov for "my favourite" Jason Brown didn't come to Grand Prix Final, or it would be a real SHAME."
9) Interview: "If I ever weigh a hundred kilos, I’ll shoot myself. It’s not a popular opinion these days, but I don’t think fat people are beautiful, and I’m convinced that you should fight your excess weight. Besides, it’s not even comfortable to be a fatty."
(Source)
How can ISU allow this sort of behaviour between negative attitudes towards worthy athletes and even down to personal attacks constantly violating professional ethics even during ISU competitions? one thing is to have an opinion about guys competing without performing quads (which we can agree or disagree), another is to attack so directly athletes for private matters.
This both damages the image of Channel One and ISU, it is sad to see Figure Skating competitions used as a platform to spread homophobia, hatred and fat shaming.
Last season Channel 1 was the only national TV-channel eligible to broadcast figure skating events in Russia, so for russian people they cannot even switch to another channel as he suggested in one of his comments.
Also worth noting that there is an ongoing petition against Yagudin, asking Russia management of sport broadcasting to remove him from his position of commentator.
https://www.change.org/p/первый-кан...нтирования-соревнований-по-фигурному-катанию?
What's your opinion on all of this?