Igor Shpilband

[soogar]

Perhaps a coach said, you don't have the money to continue with your current partner. You can take a year off to work at Home Depot to get the money for next year, and then you will be lucky to make top 8 at US Nationals with your wife, or, you can team up with Stephanie Stiegler, and have a shot at an Olympic berth.

Or he could have threatened to raise his rates/drop the team from his stable...

Not everyone is quick to put skating before their marital relationship, esp in the case of a possible Olympic berth (no guarantees there esp with other promising teams).

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Rainbow, I have noticed that many of your posts on this board are repeating gossip and asking for confirmation. I am very uncomfortable with the subject of this particular thread, and am surprised that the moderators haven't closed it.

Physical abuse is a pretty serious accusation, and if it's gossiped about on other boards, why not let it stay on the other boards? Why spread a rumor that may not even be true.

Chuckum - I share your feelings. The thread has no redeeming value but to put down Mr. Shpilbaud based on hearsay. However, it is borderline for closing the thread because no one seems to be taking Mr Shpilbaud's point of view.

We will close the thread if it gets out of hand.

Joe

 

[brad640]

It's unfortunate that things like this can't be discussed in an open forum.

I don't see how a message board could be liable for the content of its posts. Has anyone ever brought a defamation lawsuit against a message board? There are lots of message boards out there on topics other than skating that have much more icendiary content than what was posted about Shpilband on FSU, and I don't see anyone suing.

 

[Linny]

Hot abuse

Igor hot? Really? I'm not sure how my built in hot meter missed this. Please, someone, post links to pictures.

Coach abuse? I've heard it happens, but when you look at it completely analytically, you have to wonder why... it is in the coach's best interest to get thebest out of their student. Does abusing them help them to improve their performance? I think not.

Therefore, I can't imagine why a coach who wants success would choose this path. There are probably plenty of coaches "in the trenches" who get on a power trip and it turns to abuse, but I would think that they are going to pretty much stay "in the trenches" or not get students at all and fall out of the coaching ranks

 

[Ptichka]

1. Tanith's hair. Hardly abusive. Ben & Tanith have a certain image they have to keep. Back when Kazakova & Dmitriev started skating together, Moskvina insisted that during championships they go out together because that would be good for their image. This is similar. Perhaps Americans are more used to the coach doing coaching and nothing else, but in any case I would hardly call this abusive.
   
2. Weight control. I believe this issue has been debated on many threads. While ice dancing has different kinds of lifts than pair skating, the guy still does have to lift the girl. And Ben isn't exactly Schwarzenegger (uuuh, just got a terrible image - Terminator on skates ). I can imaging Shpilband telling a student that if she gains more weight she won't be able to skate with that partner any longer.
   
3. Physical abuse. I don't believe this. The example Heyang sites does not apply either since corporal punishment has never been a part Soviet educational system. It is true that Kostomarov has said some rather uncomfortable things about Linichuk. Even then, though, he alledges (and I tend to believe him) not that she or Korponosov themselves were abusive, but that they tolerated male ice dancers being abusive toward their female partners. Would be extremely surprised if the same were true of Shpilband camp.
   
4. Emotional abuse. Here, it is indeed possible, and can result from cultural differences. Russian coaches/ teachers tend to be more direct. If the student sucks, they may actually say it. If a student misbehaves, they may yell at them rather than just telling the parents. You get the picture. Overall, I find the comparison to Bela Karolij very plausible.
   
5. Magerovsky & partner. Since when has it been wrong for a coach to choose the partnerships he considers most promising?

 

[Mathman]

(uuuh, just got a terrible image - Terminator on skates )

Arnold

Arnold on skates

 

[NansXOXOX]

Mathman, you crack me up!

If you weren't married and I was a lot younger and a whole lot prettier.........

I'm just sayin'!

Nan

 

[Tonichelle]

Has anyone ever brought a defamation lawsuit against a message board?

a couple of years ago there was a figure skating message board that got busted because it was a gossip board and IIRC they got a cease and dessist (sp?) message....

 

[backspin]

I have no comment on Igor other than to say that he has a reputation for being a harsh coach, especially w/ the girls. And his girls are all TTHHIIIIIIINNN. 'nuff said.

But what I simply cannot be silent about is the appalling ignorance being displayed here regarding abusive people/relationships. Comments along the lines of "well XX may be abusive to people, but who cares, look how HAWT he is" ....... "XX looks so nice on TV, I'm sure he's a nice guy" ...... "well, maybe XX is abusive, but look how great his skaters are, so it must be working" ..... "if XX is abusive, no skater would stay with him, they could go anywhere, therefore it couldn't be true" ........

Abusive relationships happen in all walks of life. Why do battered wives stay with their abusive husbands? Why does any victim of abuse stay with their attacker? There is huge psychological stuff at play in these situations involving both the abuser and the victim. And an attitude of waving it past because in your minds it's a means to an end, is just sick.

I'm an ice dancer, not in the elite world, but I've seen & heard enough to not be so incredibly naive to express the sort of sentiments put forth here. It happens folks, It happens between partners (VERY common!!), between coaches & students, between parents & their skater kids. It's ugly. It's really, really sad.

It doesn't happen everywhere, and there are great coaches/parents/partners out there who don't ever do anything but work hard and support each other. But for people to think it couldn't possibly happen because "it's not in the skater's best interest......" is so shockingly ignorant. Do you really think abusive behavior is a result of calculated, rational thinking on the part of the abuser??

When the lights flash on & all the costumes are so sparkly & the music is so great & everyone looks happy, do you realize that isn't REAL?? That's four minutes of 1 day out of a lifetime of hard, hard work that got them there. And you have no idea what goes on at 6 am in a cold rink somewhere in this country.

I've seen a skater who couldn't walk for 2 weeks because his partner purposely tripped him.
I've seen a mother scream & throw things at her 8 year old daughter because she fell during a run-through of her program.
I've seen a skater pull out of a competition because she was sure that if she didn't win her coach would hit her.

I'll just quit there, & I'm sorry if I've offended you all. But frankly, you've offended me. You're treating it almost like a joke. Abuse is nothing to discuss lightly. It is a problem in some areas of skating, with some people. Coaches can hold an amazing amount of power over a skater. Don't be so naive.

 

[clairecloutier]

I would not be surprised if Shpilband is a pretty harsh and strict coach. There are probably a lot of coaches like that in figure skating.

But, to suggest that he physically abuses his students on a regular basis is another thing entirely. It's hard for me to believe this is true. If it were, it seems like either the skaters' parents would protest or the skaters themselves would leave him. This is, after all, the United States--not a Third World or Communist country.

I do also understand, though, what Backspin is saying about the complicated nature of abuse and why those who are abused sometimes stay in abusive situations. So I could see physical abuse happening in isolated cases in skating-- but find it hard to believe that it's a general practice in Shpilband's camp. I'd sure like to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. These are very serious allegations.

In regard to the weight issue, I have no doubt that Shpilband probably does monitor his female skaters' weights pretty closely. But, from what I have heard, this is a very common practice in skating. It's of course been reported in the news that the Chinese pairs skaters must submit to frequent weigh-ins. And even highly respected American coaches such as Frank Carroll and Carol Heiss Jenkins have made comments about their female skaters' weight and are no doubt monitoring it. So if Shpilband is pressuring his skaters about weight, he is not alone. I'm not saying it's right at all. I'm just saying he's not the only one who does it.

 

[hockeyfan228]

Or he could have threatened to raise his rates/drop the team from his stable...

Not everyone is quick to put skating before their marital relationship, esp in the case of a possible Olympic berth (no guarantees there esp with other promising teams).

Any coach has the right to drop a team that s/he thinks isn't worth his/her while, too. Those two things -- "I'm gonna drop you and your wife as a team" and "You should pair up with someone else" can be related. Or they can be two separate things.

Skating together isn't necessarily the best for marriage, and choosing another partner can be beneficial for the marital relationship. We don't know in this case. I'm pointing out an alternative to your theory.

 

[Antilles]

I don't see that all of Sphilband's girls are thin. Tanith certainly is, but Megan Wing is on the bigger side for a skater.

 

[Kasey]

But what I simply cannot be silent about is the appalling ignorance being displayed here regarding abusive people/relationships. Comments along the lines of "well XX may be abusive to people, but who cares, look how HAWT he is" ....... "XX looks so nice on TV, I'm sure he's a nice guy" ...... "well, maybe XX is abusive, but look how great his skaters are, so it must be working" ..... "if XX is abusive, no skater would stay with him, they could go anywhere, therefore it couldn't be true" ........
.

THANK YOU! It's asinine in my opinion to post something about someone supposedly being physically and mentally abusive to people and then say "well, it's ok, because he's hot". So are a lot of wife beaters, child molesters and other deviants of society. If that is your criteria for an ok human being, have at it. Most people with a brain sure won't be lining up in front of you.

 

[~Rainbow~]

How do we know if the allegations on Igor are true? How do we know if the person who shared them in FSU, was just trying to make some gossip. I try hard not to gossip or induce gossip, but figure skating isn't exactly the most public sport like football, baseball etc. It's not like we see Michelle Kwan's face on the National Enquirer everyday.

 

[NorthernLite]

Yay, backspin. I too think some people are being appallingly naive about some of the allegations against not only this coach but others.
As a skating fan, I'm sometimes bothered that I'm a fan of a sport where there is so little oversight of coaches, and so many allegations of improper/unethical/illegal behavior. The kind of stuff that would have a public school teacher in the US thrown out on their butt, teachers' union or no.

And I've heard too many bad stories to not believe there's some truth to the "skating mother" myth. I'm sure there are some parents who'd do anything, overlook anything, to get their kid "famous."

And no, it's not acceptable to say, "Well, it happens in the arts too." wth? The fact that other disciplines, such as the arts (or Little Leage baseball or whatever) have their monsters and their problems should NOT be the standard we compare skating to. Should we say that eating disorders in the ballet world may be even worse than in skating, so gee, skating's not so bad after all.

I grew up in classical music and theatre. I worked with some eccentrics, some people who'd throw hissy fits, etc. But I like to think if I ever had a teacher/conductor/director act mentally or physically abusive, my parents would have had me out of there in about two milliseconds.

As for the particular person in question - In the extremely limited exposure I've had, I witnessed one small thing once that bothered me. I also recall how awfully thin Tanith looked a few years ago. (I noticed this in person, before I'd ever heard any Net discussion about it. So it wasn't as if someone else influenced me with "rumors.")

And then there's the rumor as to why Zoueve/Sphilband left one rink and moved to another. If true, it was also unprofessional behavior on the part of one of them (and another person).

 

[sk8rmom97]

I have absolutely no idea if the particular coach in question is abusive, but as the mother of a skater, I do know skating parents and skaters. I believe that it is entirely possible that if you worked your whole life to get to the point where you were accepted by someone who is considered to be (by some, anyway) one of the best ice dancing coaches in the country, many skaters and their parents would put up with abuse because there are a limited number of places to go where you can get coaching at that level. I would not personally put up with it, but I have also resolved not to let my daughter's life revolve entirely around skating. I can tell you, many skating parents let skating take over entirely, and NOTHING is more important than skating and competitions. Potentially even if it means their child is being abused.

 

[pennyfromheaven]

Backspin I couldn't have said it any better and I couldn't agree with you more. And since when is telling the truth cause to close a thread? That's what I wondered about - why that thread was closed at fsu. I also wondered how could fsu be liable for what people post on threads there? Perhaps Igor did read that thread and personally contacted them and asked them to close it?