Sasha Cohen's Reaction to Michelle Kwan's Withdrawal

SkateFan4Life said:

Sorry, but I still think your statement was nasty. It was nothing but a cheap shot, in my opinion.

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Well, you certainly are entitled to your opinion. As far as a "cheap shot" goes, that's how I see your original post, unless you have suddenly gained the ability to read Sasha's mind. Though I do respect your knowledge of skating in other areas.

My take on this:

1. Sasha's response was just fine. I think "things don't always work out" could be interpreted as her standing up for Michelle, justifying to the media why she didn't win the gold that everyone has expected her to.

2. I agree that Sasha was probably jet-lagged. But what does it matter? Her response was fine.

3. And OHMYGAWD Sasha points out that things don't always work out, as if she's suffered as much disappointment as poor 9 time National champ, 5 time World champ, who steals the limelight as a non-competitor from competing athletes' press conferences! Who is she to say she has had moments where her dreams don't work out? :sheesh:

Sasha is there to do a job -- compete. If she was worrying about Michelle or any one else, it would be silly. She's there to focus on what she has to do, not what other people are out there doing or not doing. Look at the questions asked. If I was Sasha I'd be pretty pissed off people keep asking me that. Sasha does seem sad for Michelle but quite frankly she's got better things to stress about right now than Michelle not being there! I am sure the two of them have a mutual respect for one another and probably get along just fine (they hang out on COI, don't they?), so how about this: we play it Sasha and Michelle's way. We get along and don't trash other skaters.

Piel said:

Yes it is an injury that will heal and she may not retire. BUT we fans have been waiting since 1994 to see her win an OGM and her withdrawal is the end of that dream. What is so hard to understand about that? We will never see her at the top of the Olympic podium and it is very sad.

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I don't know you very well but *hugs*. Just think of it this way: Michelle has had a wonderful, beautiful, fulfilling career and think of all the great memories she's brought you. She doesn't need an OGM. I'm not a Michelle fan but I respect her and quite frankly with her record she doesn't need an OGM to gain my respect. She's the face of skating and I am honestly sad to see her go. I'm glad she realizes gold isn't everything, life goes on, and she'll have a wonderful life ahead of her filled with other things.

sasha's responses

1. Sasha is in Torino to skate, not to be an articulate speaker.

2. reporters edit what people say and surround sound bites
with their own spin...to fit into the context of their stories.
It is possible that Sasha may have said more than what
is reported.

From my own experience, which in no way comes close
to being in an Olympic spotlight,
I have yet to have been accurately quoted in an article in which
I was interviewed, whether that be a skating article
or one in my current chosen field.

I'm sure every skater feels for Michelle and wishes her a swift
recovery. Every skater knows he or she is only a slip away
from an injury, a tiny misstep away from a disaster.
They know they could easily be in a similar situation (except
for perhaps the 9 national championship and 5 world championship
titles. (As Peggy Fleming said, no one will probably every match
Michelle's record.)

Please give the skaters a bit more credit for empathy. And please
don't think that the reporters are giving you the whole story or
sentence for that matter.

Thanks Lainie, that was very nice of you to say such kind things.

sigh.

yet another Michelle/Sasha thread...why?

There's more intrigue on some of these threads than at the Olympics!

The way I see it is, Michelle has been Sasha's chief rival, the skater in whose shadow she has skated, ever since she arrived on the amateur scene. Yes, they may be COI colleagues, but while you're in the amateur ranks, it's all about the top spot on the podium. Michelle herself, in it to win the elusive Olympic gold this many years later, would be the last to refute that. Where am I going with this? Basically, I'd like to see some people criticizing Sasha for poor manners, insensitivity, or what have you, put themselves in the boots of someone who, like all her fellow skaters, trains as a full time job to put it all out there on the ice, win or lose, succeed or fail. Both Michelle and Sasha have their competitive demons; so Michelle has had nerves of steel, but the Olympics have proven to be her achilles heel. Sasha's path has been rougher, coming up short and runner-up to Kwan or sometimes to another hardier competitor on a number of occasions. The fact is that Michelle has won many more competitions than she's lost, and it may be easier to maintain a sunny disposition and winning, always-on public persona under more favorable circumstances - though she has earned every medal she's donned, as well as all the respect. I'm just speculating, feel free to pick apart my musings.

The withdrawal may hurt Michelle, it may hurt Michelle's family, friends, and many fans, and it may hurt NBC ratings. But I do want to point out that Michelle might also agree with Sasha's statement on things not always working out, given her Olympic track record of silver and bronze healthy. It's not that tragic that she became injured and had to withdraw, because she's had two shots at Olympic gold already, and due to the vicissitudes of competition (it is a competition, the highest stakes one, not the crowning achievement of every legendary skater - look at Janet Lynn, for crying out loud! And so many others!), which Sasha has been on the business end of many more times than Michelle, she came up short both times! This is not a judgment of Michelle; I think she's an amazing skater who comes across as charming on screen and she's a master at public relations. However, I don't think anyone is in a position to judge people they don't know, their manners or what have you, ESPECIALLY not in a competitive context in one of the most high-pressure sports there is, where the stakes are higher than ever! If I were Sasha, might I be focused on my skate and my skate alone (not to mention trying to deal with jetlag, fatigue, loads of nerves, pressure from expectations galore, starting with my own, and physical conditioning and actually skating, to boot)? Yes. If I were Sasha, might I have less than warm and fuzzy feelings about Michelle and her legacy and how it always overshadows my own attempts to forge one? Yes. Might I be annoyed by a question about Michelle, though I may wish her no harm personally, on an interview about me? Yes. These are human reactions, people!

I feel sorry for Michelle and for her fans, and I myself, like Dee, was raring to see whether Michelle could throw down at these Olympics, looking forward to check out what sound like exciting new programs, and wishing her the best. However, I can't accept that catharsis has to come at the expense of a comment Sasha made that wasn't really evil or anything; all too often, disappointments over favorite skaters are aired out and vented in these famed, epic, "my skater vs. your skater" threads, and that's part of what I feel has happened here. Just my two cents.

Instead of fans putting themselves in the shoes of other fans, how about putting ourselves in the boots of some of these skaters that we go to town on? Kinda hard, considering that most of us have no idea what that kind of pressure feels like and what effect it has on people, in most cases, very young people in their formative years. So what if Michelle may be considered a class act by some in dealing with the media in comparison to Sasha? (I for one can't decide whether someone is a good person or not on the basis of interactions with a media industry that prefers its figure skaters politically correct; as nice a person as Michelle may be, there's always some measure of acting involved, for all skaters, or at least those who deal with US media - see Russian skaters' refreshing yet shockingly un-P.C. comments for a stark contrast) I feel a comparison of their skating is the most relevant as a fan of skating, and even then it's apples and oranges, it's down to what you prefer, or (gasp) if you like both! The personality stuff, which we can't know but to a limited degree since we don't know the skaters personally, just becomes "my skater vs. your skater" sniping. Yawn.

Sarah M.

p.s. Bravo to Michelle for looking to come back next season!

Figure skating is a sport not the girl scouts!

Michelle's been injured all year but Sasha still can't compete with out the media forcing Michelle down her throat. It gets on my nerves and I'm not the one having to answer the questions.

Michelle has a very common sports injury. She even said so herself. It's not like she tore her ACL or rupture her Achilles tendon. She has a groin pull. Michelle was walking without any sign of a limp or anything. Sasha didn't have to wish Michelle a pc get well. Michelle will get well with a month off skating and take her time getting her jumps back.

Figure skating is a sport. Most of it is mental. Sasha has to worry about Sasha. She wants to block out all distractions. Being ask over and over again Michelle questions is a distraction. It makes her prissy especially when Michelle isn't even competing in the competition or the last one.

Sasha isn't friends with Michelle. The way Sasha is treated by the press and Michelle fans it's not really possible. Sasha can't even enjoy competing in her own country because there are quite a few haters. Sasha bumped into Michelle at 2002 nationals and she's been thought of as an evil b!tch since. Sasha says it was an accident but people don't believe her. Also a lot people wanted Angela on the 2002 Olympic team so it was a double whammy.

I'm including the following because I get the feeling that some people think Sasha doesn't have figure skating friends.

Sasha hangs with the younger crowd at COI.

http://www.sashacohen.com/coi2005.shtml

http://www.sashacohen.com/coitour.shtml

And Evan said some nice things about her in People.

http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1158433,00.html

Uhm since when do you have to be a Girl Scout to have good manners? I'm sorry but there are lots of people who are more important and under more stress than Sasha and still are able to be polite. No one is accusing her of the crime of the century it just happens to be what this thread is about. It is not about the severity of Kwan's injury or whether Sasha is a good person. It is about a particular incident and how posters feel about Sasha's response to questions.

I have only been interviewed for the press twice in my entire life. (Some of you may have read one of the articles since it's in International Figure Skating magazine.) Both times, my comments were snipped. So it is entirely possible that Sasha made all of the politically correct comments about Kwan and that they were edited out of the article because the article had to have X number of words--no more, no less.

If the 2/13 story with Katie Couric was edited than Sasha should refuse to be interviewed by Couric in the future. I wish I could find the complete transcript and am kicking myself for not taping it.

There was nothing impolite about what Sasha said. It's only what you think she should have said but didn't that is causing you to judge her manners.

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.

brinababy87 said:

My take on this:

3. And OHMYGAWD Sasha points out that things don't always work out, as if she's suffered as much disappointment as poor 9 time National champ, 5 time World champ, who steals the limelight as a non-competitor from competing athletes' press conferences! Who is she to say she has had moments where her dreams don't work out? :sheesh:

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Brinababy87, puh'leez, Michelle would have given anything NOT to have had to withdraw from these Olympics. Surely she wasn't trying to 'steal the limelight' from Sasha's press conference by withdrawing.

Gimme a break.

Besides, it was the USOC that scheduled the press conference when they did, so blame them if you must blame someone. Strikes me as really petty, tho, to complain about a press conference announcing the withdrawal of the most well-known and beloved skater from the U.S. just 'cause it followed Sasha's.

Tonichelle said:

:sheesh: yet another thread that is old and so rehashed one has to wonder WHY we bring it up each and every time :sheesh:

I thought she did very well this morning. What's she supposed to say? Why does she have to kiss Kwan's @$$ every time she turns around, that's what Katie Couric and Scott Hamilton are for :sheesh:

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I have not read all the posts in this thread but I wish to comment. I think Michelle Kwan is one of the most gracious and joytful competitors the USA has ever had. But there is room for many types of competitors. Sasha Cohen is a fierce competitor. Fierce competitors frequently are successful unless the anger eats them up.

I saw a TV clip of some official saying how valuable Kwan has been to USA skating. I agree. Perhaps that irritated Cohen.

What I think is that Cohen could have addressed the withdrawal with reasonable concern for how Kwan must feel. Her people should have prepared her for this inevitable question. She should have thought about this herself and prepared except that I may have to agree with one of the posters that she is so self absorbed that she did not give it any thought.

Had she said anything sympathetic at all it would have been OK. But instead she seemed as at least one poster put it to be totally self absorbed irritated but trying to look good.

I like the skating of Sasha Cohen. She needs some more media training.

Mathman said:

This is what we are arguing about??! from the furor I though she must have said, "Michelle's a skanky ho and I'm glad she's injured."
The quote is appropriate, sympathetic and even charming. (Um, Sasha's actual quote, I mean, not what I said.)
MM

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I agree that this segment of comment was quality but the irritation and lack of commenting that strong competitors are important to push one another to greater success rather than this human quality of skating comment which to me seemed cold would have been preferred for public statement.

How was that rude? One is not required to send personal messages of sympathy or discuss a third party to the media. It might be a nice gesture, but Sasha did not have an obligation to say anything about Kwan to Couric or us. We don't know what kind of message Sasha may or may not have sent to Michelle.

There is a very bizarre sense of entitlement among some fans (IMO). It's as if they believe the skaters are required to play out their experiences and express everything to the media or it doesn't count. For example, if Sasha doesn't express sympathy for Michelle to us, then no sympathy has been expressed. If the skaters don't entertain us with the outpourings of their hearts, then they don't feel anything. If they don't make a show of compassion in full public view, well, they don't care. It's kind of twisted really.

These are human beings, not characters in a soap opera. They aren't required to provide drama or milk out every feeling for it's maximum emotional payoff to the voyeurs. Sasha might have expressed sympathy to Michelle personally and didn't consider it our business. If so, she's right. It's not our business.

well said.

I disagree. When a skater is at this level it is very important to be aware of the image you are presenting. It is good to be focused on your own efforts but it is not good to seem cold and so driven you care about nothing else. Image is important. No matter what Cohen needs to do to succeed she must be aware of public image. I silte Belbin and Agosto as the supreme examples during this most trying year of effort to gain support for their Olympic opportunity. Never was either of them less than most gracious in their public comments.

I've always believed that the most aggressive and angry Kwan fans conduct themselves in a manner far beneath the level that Michelle herself would approve of. It is downright ridiculous that there should be TEN pages and over 130 posts on this absurdly unimportant topic - how Sasha responded to a question about Michelle's withdrawal. All of you who support Sasha's side are absolutely correct, but you should just STOP POSTING on this thread and go have a burger and fries or something and leave the other side to fume and whine UNANSWERED.

Michelle Kwan is far above the petty shenannigans of many of her fans.

Too bad. She is worthy of much more than the anti-Tara, anti-Naomi, anti-Sarah, anti-Sasha mudslingers that are all over the internet.

I support and enjoy MANY lady skaters equally. Why can't there be more fans of
the sport itself that are as perfect as me?

Enero said:

I agree with Morganlee. NBC wants people watching the Olympics, especially their biggest ratings draw, ladies figure skating. Now that Kwan is out they go to the "next best thing" Cohen. I absolutely think that Cohen's PR people could've said "No Kwan Questions," and the Today Show would've complied. Like Morgan said Sasha doesn't NEED the Today Show. All she needs to do is stay focused so that she can skate her best at these games. But the Today Show need her so that they can try and keep people interested in the ladies figure skating event.

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Ty Enero although Im not sure Sasha or her fans would like her referred to as the next best thing. LMAO. Yes NBC definetly needs Sasha.