Mary Beth Marley updates

[ice coverage]

*TSL This and That 8/4 about 22 and a half minutes in

Mary Beth’s statement regarding Lindsay Davis & Rockne Brubaker’s 2013-2014 long program:

“Honestly, heartbroken is an understatement. It hurt more than I could ever have imagined. I loved that program. I studied, researched and watched that old French movie every day. I loved it to death. The choreography was very similar and well let’s just say that I thought he would have respected the fact that it was our program. Well, I can’t control what he does, but I have lost lots of respect for him. I thought he respected our partnership more than that.”

... Mary Beth's tweet gives some indication that it might not have gone as desired.
.... Marley's twitter response could give the impression that, for Mary Beth, the issue is all about her, me, me, me. ...
... But Mary Beth's objection, from what can be seen in the tweet ...

If professional considerations and the goodwill of Rockne and his fans were why she isn't suing, then she's simultaneously making a hash of it with her tweet . ....

Robeye, what exactly did Marley say in the "tweet" to which you keep referring?? Or did you mean the "statement" from the TSL video? :confused2:

Ok my 5-point nutshell in which I attempt to keep it real and not make anyone a villain (or make everyone a villain, who knows):

1. Regarding whether MBM left the partnership 'abruptly' and if Rocknee was 'stunned' I think the answers are probably yes and no, respectively. I do think she left abruptly but I think if he was stunned he was kind of-deliberately turning a blind eye. ...
3. ... Even if Rocknee paid for it, he probably should have showed some maturity himself and at least told MBM in advance what he was going to do. ....
4. Neither of them should be saying anything to the press about one another (whether thinly veiled or outright) in any case. It will do them no good, just fuels kind of silly conversations like the one we are having here ...
5. Regarding other people being hesitant to pair with MBM, who knows? ....

So many good points from tulosai (thank you!), some of which make me think of Yankowskas.
- Re #5: Agree that it is unpredictable what the future will hold for Marley in terms of a future partner. Seems crazy that ever since becoming national champion, Yankowskas has not had a successful partnership --- and yet it is so.
- Re #4: Even when pressed in her TSL interview to "tell all" re Coughlin, Yankowskas really bent over backward to take the high road, and stayed away from judging Coughlin with her words. I thought she did an exceptional job of turning the other cheek. (In nonverbal ways, it was clear that the topic was understandably sensitive for her, but her comments were remarkably serene, IMHO.)

 

[Robeye]

Robeye, what exactly did Marley say in the "tweet" to which you keep referring?? Or did you mean the "statement" from the TSL video? :confused2:

Yes, I was referring to the statement on TSL. Sorry, for some reason I took it for a quote from a tweet (seems like practically every "statement" is a tweet these days).

 

[clairecloutier]

Ok my 5-point nutshell in which I attempt to keep it real and not make anyone a villain (or make everyone a villain, who knows):

1. Regarding whether MBM left the partnership 'abruptly' and if Rocknee was 'stunned' I think the answers are probably yes and no, respectively. I do think she left abruptly but I think if he was stunned he was kind of-deliberately turning a blind eye. Assuming she was telling the truth in the interview she couldn't put up lifts by the end. If your female partner can't put up a lift and you have no inkling something is wrong, that is some pretty serious denial. Now of course, she should have spoken to him more openly about what was going on and tried to give him more notice.

This is something I've been wondering about. After the split, Rockne claimed he was surprised and didn't see it coming. So what was he thinking, exactly, when it reached the point that Mary Beth could no longer get lifts up or do twists? What were the coaches thinking? Surely it's a red flag when one partner can no longer perform the elements. I just wonder what happened at that stage. Did the coaches/Rockne show concern? Did they try and talk with Mary Beth about it, or give her the cold shoulder, or yell at her, or ignore it? I guess I wonder if the partnership could have been saved somehow--perhaps if they'd just taken a six-month break or something.

 

[hanca]

This is something I've been wondering about. After the split, Rockne claimed he was surprised and didn't see it coming. So what was he thinking, exactly, when it reached the point that Mary Beth could no longer get lifts up or do twists? What were the coaches thinking? Surely it's a red flag when one partner can no longer perform the elements. I just wonder what happened at that stage. Did the coaches/Rockne show concern? Did they try and talk with Mary Beth about it, or give her the cold shoulder, or yell at her, or ignore it? I guess I wonder if the partnership could have been saved somehow--perhaps if they'd just taken a six-month break or something.

I know it sound weird that they didn't notice anything wrong, but there can be some simple explanation. They could have just thought that she is getting over some flu/cold or is exhausted from a difficult season. At that time it was off season so they may have thought that she has plenty of time to have rest before the season starts and get it all back. Also, we don't know how long she couldn't do the elements before she stopped skating. She could have decided to stop after just a week of not being able to perform those elements so they wouldn't necessarily be worried yet. And she did admit herself that she was covering her problems very well, pretending that everything is alright, (which is connected with her condition) so she could have offered some excuse such as that she is getting over a cold and feels a bit weak...

 

[tulosai]

Also, we don't know how long she couldn't do the elements before she stopped skating. She could have decided to stop after just a week of not being able to perform those elements so they wouldn't necessarily be worried yet. And she did admit herself that she was covering her problems very well, pretending that everything is alright, (which is connected with her condition) so she could have offered some excuse such as that she is getting over a cold and feels a bit weak...

I see this to some extent, but only to some extent. It isn't really as if a skater just reaches a certain point and BAM! can no longer execute a lift. It is usually a slow process where it gets worse and worse so it is hard for me to imagine Rocknee/the coaches failed to notice MBM could execute fewer and fewer lifts and twists over time. Now, even the best technicians can miss a lift occasionally- Duhamel and Radford's botched lift at the 2012 Canadian Nationals short program comes to mind. But as an elite pairs skater, I would think any time a partner is failing to put up fewer than 9/10 of lifts, that would be a time for serious concern, and that a time of concern would occur well before that, as really, you have to be able to execute lifts far over 90% of the time.

 

[Celine]

The "second life" this young lady has achieved is pretty impressive considering. I genuinely wish her well with her skating and her life. Think she is adorable.

That said, it was disappointing to see her "get the opportunity" to express her "disappointment" with Rockne over using the Free Skate (Umbrellas) as it seemed like so much unnecessarily complicated water under the bridge.

To me, she kinda' "ruined" her re-appearance. From coming across as brave and stronger, out came lingering resentment and bitter. That didn't really help. Bummer.