It's probably the attention and notoriety he craves on some level.
Statement from USFS regarding Dave Lease
- Thread starter moonvine
- Start date
No one knows with any certainty what all football, baseball, tennis, soccer, basketball or even figure skating fans have mocked or not mocked, said or not said, believed or not believed.
Oh wow 
I’m in shock. I listen to some of his YouTube videos when it was about Canadian Nationals or when he has Megan Duhamel, Tamara Moskvina or Maya (talk about Russians so I’m up to date with Russian Nationals). I sometimes watch other videos, but, he never actually focuses on all the athletes enough for me to be interested.
What he said actually stings me. One of the deaths was a Novice girls skater who placed 4th in the toughest sectional in USA. I actually was certain she would make Junior Nationals the following year. That is talented to me. Also, I’ve seen athletes who are sometimes 17th move up one year to top 3. You never know when certain athletes peak. If that was my sibling and I heard someone say my sibling is not talented, after their death, I would be devastated. Weren’t the athletes coming from some high performance camp. I think that requires talent.
I’m in shock. I listen to some of his YouTube videos when it was about Canadian Nationals or when he has Megan Duhamel, Tamara Moskvina or Maya (talk about Russians so I’m up to date with Russian Nationals). I sometimes watch other videos, but, he never actually focuses on all the athletes enough for me to be interested.
What he said actually stings me. One of the deaths was a Novice girls skater who placed 4th in the toughest sectional in USA. I actually was certain she would make Junior Nationals the following year. That is talented to me. Also, I’ve seen athletes who are sometimes 17th move up one year to top 3. You never know when certain athletes peak. If that was my sibling and I heard someone say my sibling is not talented, after their death, I would be devastated. Weren’t the athletes coming from some high performance camp. I think that requires talent.
That entered my mind. Some people actually believe bad press is better than no press.
NFL fandom ... something I know something about.
The NFL can and most certainly does ban people from buying tickets because of what they say. Most recently, the Eagles banned a "fan" who went viral for using sexist language to the fan of another team. He was not, as far as I know, violent or breaking the law. His speech was crude and repugnant and he is banned from the Linc.
Because this is America and that is what private entities are permitted to do.
USFS as a private entity could in fact bar Dave Lease from its events if it chose to so. Although at this point, facing the consequences of his own actions, I doubt very much he will choose to go.
In this discussion, no one is talking about verbally assaulting someone in person, threatening someone, or any other behavior that could possibly end up in the commission of a violent crime between parties.
Eagles fan banned for verbally assaulting Packers fan, loses his job
An Eagles fan been banned from attending any future events at Lincoln Financial Field.
sports.yahoo.com
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
He defìnitely posted on occasion as TSLDave. I saw a post from him once regarding a TSL interview episode. Most likely, he's also posted here over the years under other monikers.
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Huh. I may not always agree with what he says and he sometimes has bad manners, but his discussions of skating events with ex skaters, coaches and journalists in his YT channels are usually pretty interesting.
Not sure what happened here.
Not sure what happened here.
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- Mar 14, 2007
He temporarily removed it. He’s done it before when things blew up and restored it when they blow over.
Ya know, I went back and replayed that video of Lease talking. Upon listening to it again, it reminds me of Simon Cowell getting yelled at by viewers for being brutally honest when people couldn't sing well during the early years of American Idol. Granted, Lease's timing is damn bad but what I don't know is, what is the context? When was this said?
Then I went back again. That's when I saw who was on screen: Jason Brown. Why am I looking at a video of Jason Brown skating with white text being typed across his skating performance? Who did this? Is Lease watching Jason skate while making all these comments? I'm starting to wonder what I am actually witnessing in this video.
Then I went back again. That's when I saw who was on screen: Jason Brown. Why am I looking at a video of Jason Brown skating with white text being typed across his skating performance? Who did this? Is Lease watching Jason skate while making all these comments? I'm starting to wonder what I am actually witnessing in this video.
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Establishing if the kids were talented or not is pointless. It gives him the attention is he starving for.
The real deal is that he is extremely insensitive to the loss of human lives. It is disgusting. Unfortunately, I cannot say I am surprised by any of it. Grossed out, yes.. Surprised? Not in this era of social media where anyone has a voice.
The real deal is that he is extremely insensitive to the loss of human lives. It is disgusting. Unfortunately, I cannot say I am surprised by any of it. Grossed out, yes.. Surprised? Not in this era of social media where anyone has a voice.
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It was during the actual memorial show, he was running a livestream and Jason was skating at the moment it happened but it could have been any of the skaters.
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As for me he got what he deserved for a long time.
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Years ago, after Lease made ill-conceived gossipy comments about Gracie Gold (and revealed her father's difficulties, not widely known at the time), USfigsk pulled Lease's press privileges to cover domestic events, and urged U.S. skaters to stop giving him interviews.
Lease initially created a popular online blog about gymnastics and figure skating. He is knowledgeable, yet overly snarky and gossipy about both sports. He got his big break when Jennifer Kirk befriended him and they started The Skating Lesson together circa 2012. It became popular in the early years due to high profile interviews with Frank Carroll; Timothy Goebel; Tai Babilonia; Debi Thomas; and even Michelle Kwan, et al. Kirk left the podcast at some point, then came back on rare occasions once Lease had brought TSL back to some relevance. Due to her insider connections, Kirk was able to obtain most of the interviews they landed in the beginning.
The platform has been significant due to a number of high profile interviews over the years with skaters and coaches including Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill, Caryn Kadavy, Oksana Baiul, Katia Gordeeva, Linda Fratianne, Alissa Czisny, Kurt Browning, Paul Wylie, Meagan Duhamel, Shpilband, Haguenauer, Orser, Moskvina; choreographers, David Wilson, Benoit, Bezic; et al. I think some coaches came on after finding out Frank Carroll had once given an interview to Jenny Kirk and Lease. Kirk was coached by Carroll during her career, so that's how they secured that interview. TSL was also given rare skating interview footage amassed by documentary filmmakers, David Barba and James Pellerito, when they were doing preliminary research for a film on skating. The film ended up focusing solely on Johnny Weir (Pop Star On Ice, 2009), thus there was a great deal of fascinating footage with top officials and skating stars that was not used. TSL platform holds all that footage, along with their extensive interviews, past competitions, etc. The TSL archival footage is historically significant.
What is bad has been Lease's snarky habits, uncalled for negativity, and malicious gossip. He had seemed to try to tone himself down in recent years. Sandra Bezic has been a supporter and confidante of Lease along with Meagan Duhamel. Alissa Czisny, Elena Bechke, and Duhamel have often co-hosted TSL event summaries in recent years. I have never heard any of the Patreons, but due to a desire for skating coverage, I have listened as best I could to some of the rambling This 'n That episodes on YouTube. It was quite often difficult to sit through or fully understand some of the references and asides, as Lease is so undisciplined in his format and delivery.
I don't understand what possessed Lease to say what he did. It's insensitive and untrue for starters. These were talented skaters and coaches, as well as loving and devoted parents tragically lost.
Lease made unnecessary critiques about the Legacy on Ice event, too, in his last YT episode.
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He was talking about predatory coaches who lie to parents and skaters about skaters' skills to continue charging them at the expense of the skater's childhood and their parents taking on multiple jobs to pay for the cost of the sport. Jesus Christ, lay off. The Skating Lesson does so much more for the sport and actual skating fans than USFS ever does; they're stuck in 1982. Newsflash: it's 2025. The USFS is the reason the sport is dying all over the country. Shame on them for piling on.
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Exactly! Thank you for articulating this so well and succinctly.
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Yes, there are many things wrong in skating due to the lack of competent leadership by both USfigsk and the ISU. For sure, voicing this kind of commentary is Lease's prerogative. I agree with some of his observations about the skating community and the difficult issues that continually go unaddressed. But I have also witnessed firsthand Lease's careless tendency to make uncalled for snarky attacks on skaters and to engage in malicious gossip. He should have had sense not to cast aspersions on dead human beings whose loss the skating community and surviving family members will be grieving for a long time. Many people still grieve the deaths of those lost in the 1962 Sabena air crash, which has been re-evoked (especially for old-timers) by this recent terrible tragedy.
Unfortunately, Lease has been a loose cannon too often. And he is sadly, an attention seeker who revels in snarky gossip. In my earlier post, I pointed out that there are good things about TSL and its coverage and platform. Certainly, Lease has many loyal supporters. But this time, his insensitive foot-in-mouth spewing went too far. He could have separately voiced his critiques without making cruel and hurtful comments about the young skaters, their coaches and parents recently lost in a tragic air crash. Why discuss the Legacy on Ice event in such a negative context?
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- May 15, 2024
As if it matters whether they were talented. They died sudden and tragic deaths.
I had no idea who Dave was and what he said (although TSL have some good extended interviews that I sometimes look up for reference) but this is shocking.
Even if we forget that Spencer Lane was on that plane - who was more than just talented, who was unique - this commentary literary stabs the whole figure skating community in the back.
We need figure skating at all levels. This is what's intrinsic for it to exist as a sport and as a trade, not a medal more or less. What the h*ll this commentator was thinking?
Even if we forget that Spencer Lane was on that plane - who was more than just talented, who was unique - this commentary literary stabs the whole figure skating community in the back.
We need figure skating at all levels. This is what's intrinsic for it to exist as a sport and as a trade, not a medal more or less. What the h*ll this commentator was thinking?
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Which is important, and he has done good before among all the bitching and insulting, but hell, the timing and the phrasing - pretty much trampling on the memories of the recently dead - was incredibly callous and incredibly stupid, and the message got lost in the hurt he caused. It was not the time and place for anyone to sermonise.
I agree with you about USFS. The whole of their upper echelons reek, and they are not the only ones. But too many people these days think having a righteous - in their minds - cause means they don't have to act with common courtesy or even decency..
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- May 15, 2024
I guess he was tolerated bc he sometimes said what we (almost) all had in mind but didn't think in was proper to voice it or didn't think there is enough evidence to be vocal. So he may have lost clear vision and maybe even thought that he is the courageous voice again. Well nope, not this time.
