This is my favorite interview ever, by anybody! Thank you so much for pointing the link. For once, somebody actually told the truth as they see it. What would you prefer, the "typical" interview like you see on every single celebrity interview show? I can't even watch those things any more. Frank doesn't think Irina was a "beautiful" skater and he said so. He thought politics played a part in the judging of this very subjective sport and he said so. He spoke frankly about problems he had with certain skaters and/or their parents. I didn't think he hit below the belt or said anything inappropriate. If anyone was rude it was Jenny and Dave, who laughed at Irina Slutskaya. Frank's comment was mild and could be taken simply to mean that she was not balletic and graceful (which she wasn't--she was an athletic skater, not a ballerina, and I really miss her and others like her).
I also got the impression that it was him asking for the 5% cut that sent Michelle packing, probably at the orders of her father and agent. It was a big mistake on her part, it may have cost her a gold medal.
Anyway, thanks again. I really enjoyed it.
I also got the impression that it was him asking for the 5% cut that sent Michelle packing, probably at the orders of her father and agent. It was a big mistake on her part, it may have cost her a gold medal.
Anyway, thanks again. I really enjoyed it.
I just wanted to remind everyone that Frank was probably being frank (hehe) in a very informal interview environment and not necessarily trying to be unbiased or make some kind of official indictment against Irina's skills. He was probably speaking as a starry-eyed fan like many of us do without any specific malice, but since he's such a prolific coach it might cause people to raise their eyebrows and take it more seriously than he intended.
) At the time, I didn't think Michelle's 96 win was controversial at all, nor did the US media--I had been super excited about Michelle Kwan since she "almost" got to go to 1994 Olympics, and big things were predicted for her even then, so when she won 1996 Worlds, it was like, "She has arrived." I didn't realize until later that for some skating fans and even for some within the skating circle, it was controversial. Within the last year or so, there was a fan report of someone meeting Brian Orser, and for whatever reason, they discussed 1996 Worlds, and his opinion was that Lu Chen deserved to win. So, clearly, it's a competition that at the very least, some skating folks like to keep debating--it's not an open or shut case. I think you are right that there are better examples of politics working in Michelle's favor than 96 Worlds, but when I ask myself if the result would have been different if Michelle skated for China and if Lu Chen skated for the US, I'm not really sure of the answer. 
In such a close competition the result could've gone either way and one would have a case for either winner. I don't think one can prove that politics played a large part, but it's also hard (for me) to say that it didn't play zero part at all. Maybe it played close to zero--but even a little bit can help in a close competition.
