Lease is entitled to his opinions, as all of us are
I think it wise not to put too much stock in his opinions, though, and to remember that he has had a longstanding friendship with Eric’s former partner, Meagan, who was quite aggrieved by the way their partnership ended.
Lease is also friendly with other pairs skaters who may not appreciate the prospect of having to compete against James and Radford.
Let’s all feel free to reach our own conclusions about the new team!
Of course. Exactly. I'm perfectly aware of Dave Lease's allegiances with Meagan Duhamel and with Kristen Moore-Towers. That goes without saying. The knowledge that Lease's opinions are often biased and/or petty will never prevent me from speaking out when I see egregious unfairness based in part on prejudice. Nowhere did I suggest that 'stock' needs to be taken in any of Lease's questionable diatribes. As a matter of fact, it's rather silly, false, and beyond the bounds for Lease to claim that Vanessa "doesn't match Eric," and "can't keep up with him." Such utterances call into question what exactly Lease is looking at.
Notice that it is not only Dave Lease who has consistently voiced biased critiques against Vanessa (& Morgan when they were partnered) related to the coded 'lack of SS' ubiquitous complaint. I made that clear in my previous post.
Dave Lease has an audience and a platform, and he's seen by some in the skating community as a 'useful tool.' That doesn't mean his opinions are the last word. He'll never change, as he does enjoy name-dropping, and being snarky. I refuse to make any excuses for Lease/Beyer, nor for those who enjoy partaking in that particular brand of gossip and innuendo. There are sometimes opinions Lease expresses with less pettiness that I may agree with on occasion. But for the most part, his shtick with Beyer grates. I go to TSL's YouTube channel and I browse through the latest episodes because there's a lack of timely and informative figure skating coverage, and there is often news of relevance contained within TSL's rambling episodes. Obviously, everyone is free to have and to voice their own opinions. Figure skating is a subjective sport. But I wasn't born yesterday. I've seen a lot that has gone on in this sport and in our culture in my many years. I will always call out unfairness in what I see when I think it's important to do so.
There are humungous nuances involved in this situation. Vanessa & Eric have the right to partner and to pursue competition in whichever way they choose. They are clearly being supported by Skate Canada, in part due to the need to rebuild Canada's pairs discipline. With two proven champions paired for this season, that may allow SC to field two strong pairs teams for Olympics and Worlds. While Trennt & Evelyn are very good, very gritty and competitive, they don't have the experience, stature or weapons needed to compete closer to the top, as M-T/M and J/R are expected to be able to do. Stellato/Deschamps are coming on strong with a well-matched, worthy partnership. But they are still developing and Deanna is not eligible for the Olympics. As I said earlier, J/R's partnership adds a lot of interest and excitement to the pairs field, not only within Canada, but also globally.
I realize that there are many fair-minded fans who see, accept, and applaud the desire and joy Vanessa & Eric are exuding on this journey. There's no sense in throwing potshots at J/R, neither individually nor as a team. J/R never said that they expect to win or even to medal. They are just going to go out there and give it their all and enjoy each step along the way. It's silly of Lease & Beyer to suggest that J/R promised to come out guns ablazin' with shock and awe, shooting everyone down. J/R are just trying to explore whatever uniqueness they can offer as a team. As a new team, they have certainly made extensive progress within a short time. With that in mind, J/R's debut was very good. It has helped them to see where they stand on competition ice. They will surely go back to their home rink to continue training, adjusting and refining. J/R's strengths are their smooth graceful movements over the ice, their gorgeous lines, their veteran experience, and their positive mindsets.
BTW, check out the James/Radford fan fest thread, where I posted several practice clips I came across. Two of the clips show them executing sbs triples (salchow and 3-toe). They perform these sbs jumps quite effortlessly, and impressively close together with excellent unison too. But, I will wait to see how it all comes together for them in competition. It seems to be a fun and rewarding journey for them so far.
