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I still want to do my post Olympic write-up - there's a lot of things I want to comment on...but you all know that I've been really interested (and biased) in the Chad Hedrick/Shani Davis feud where Chad was upset that Shani didn't skate the team pursuit, saying that Shani's focus on his individual goals interfered with the team getting a gold. (Of course, we know that a gold is NEVER a sure thing in the Olympics). The media picked up on it like sharks in a feeding frenzy, saying that Shani pulled out of the team pursuit, blah blah blah, and with the help of a really bad, weird, out of character interview Shani looked like a villain to many for abandoning his team.
Sadly, even the local papers here gave him a lot of shit about it...
Turns out today, Phil Hersh, who was one of the local reports to criticize Shani, has written a sort of apology, with lots of quotes from USOC and US Speedskating hire ups saying, "Oops, we were bad. We SHOULD have said something so the whole thing didn't blow up to a battle of Olympic proportions..."
"The way the public understood and the media portrayed the situation is inaccurate," said U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Jim Scherr. "Shani never pulled out because he never entered. He made clear his desire to win the individual events he was focused on, and in the light of hindsight, with his two medals, that was the right decision."Hedrick's outrage and U.S. speedskating's failure to make the media aware of what it knew about the situation turned it into a bitter feud, in which everyone quickly took sides.
"In hindsight, knowing what a big issue this became, it probably would have been a good move (for U.S. Speedskating) to make a clarifying statement," Brian Wanek, chair of U.S. Speedskating's long-track committee, said Wednesday.
Article: Shani Davis deserves big apology
Is it too late? I think so. It's a nice gesture after the fact, but really, when people remember the Torino games, they'll remember what happened between Shani and Chad. If someone with some authority stepped in during the drama and said, "Hey, Shani never even signed up for the team pursuit" then maybe people would have believed Shani or his people when they said that he had never signed up for it.
Now, since everyone kept their mouth shut and the network was so hungry for ratings, we'll remember Torino for a spat between two men, rather than for the 3 golds, 3 silvers and bronzes that US long track speedskating added to the US medal count.
Posted by Yano at March 9, 2006 11:43 AMThanks for posting the article. It is a little too late.
It is too bad that Katie Marquard took it upon heself to add Shani's name to the list without ever asking him. Shouldn't it have been the job of USS president Andy Gabel to step up to the plate and give the media the correct story? I know there are some issues between the Davises and USS but this could have gone a long way in helping mend their feud.
If nothing else it would have stopped Chad's insensate whining.
I did not like the way Shani handled his interview with Melissa Starck after he won his gold medal. He should have taken the high road but he didn't and now he has to live with the perception he gave. I have seen Shani skate a number of times and he has always been very nice to fans so I know what I saw of him during the Olympics was not how he usually is. It's a shame!
Posted by: Sue on March 9, 2006 02:06 PMI had just finished reading that article before I came to your blog. That whole situation was so infuriating. It got a lot of coverage on Eurosport, the network that carried the Games in Turin, so I was able to keep up with the ongoing drama.
It was so upsetting to see Shani being crucified by the media because Chad Hedrick couldn't keep from whining like a big baby. I mean, how dare he insinuate that Shani is unpatriotic? I don't think it took much insight to see that Hedrick was just unhappy because he wouldn't get his five medals. Fortunately he revealed himself as the week progressed. When I got home and watched the coverage that I had TiVo'd I was happy to see that the media tide had turned in Shani's favor. I don't know Shani personally, but I've been around him enough over the past four years to know that he didn't deserve the treatment he got.
The funny thing is it never occurred to me until I read Hersh's article that USSpeedskating never so much as issued a statement to clarify the issue. Something tells me they weren't all that unhappy about what was happening to Shani. Unfortunately for them it backfired, because now the media is blaming them for the whole thing. *snicker*
Anyway, sorry for rambling on about this but it just made me so mad. I was happy to see that article by Hersh, but as you suggest, it's probably too little too late.
i think you definetly nailed it (both you yano and sue)
Posted by: TheDivineMissN on March 9, 2006 05:01 PMI agree, Yano.
Posted by: janet on March 9, 2006 05:41 PMI'm sorry, but to even imply that about Chad is totally insane.
Posted by: Texx on March 9, 2006 11:19 PMTexx - you are quick to call people's opinion childish and insane, yet you seem to be pretty liberal about your opinion on this comment board and in your blog. Do you see in hypocrisy in that?
Posted by: Anita on March 10, 2006 10:25 AMI'm with you Yano, Sue & Denizzy. I don't think it's much of a secret that there's some tension between the Davises and USS. It's unfortunate that they weren't quicker to clarify the situation and I'm sorry Shani got any bad press. He didn't deserve it.
Posted by: Lara on March 10, 2006 02:16 PMYano, could you please delete my comment above please--should have kept my opinion to myself? Way too much history on this one that I don't want to have a thing to do with.
Posted by: janet on March 10, 2006 03:23 PMJanet - I didn't delete your comment, I just took the last sentences out. I just left it that you agree with me. Which I believe everyone should. It would make it into a much nicer and less complicated world.
For me, anyway. :-P
Posted by: Yano on March 10, 2006 04:36 PMThank you, Yano.
Posted by: janet on March 10, 2006 04:41 PMWhat's happen with Shani in Torino was a tragedy, and I mean that in the old fashioned sense of the word. I just read the Sports Illustrated editorial (it was at the "Y" while I was on the treadmill). For many reasons this is one of the saddest things I've read. He's a gifted young man, personalble and has worked as hard as anyone for his gold medal. He SHOULD have been "The" story of the Olympics. The reasons why he was not are just too complex to sum up in a few sentences. But my heart goes out to him. I wish him the best in the future and hope he will continue to perform in such an outstanding manner.
Posted by: SusanG on March 10, 2006 07:39 PMI can understand USS putting Shani's name on the pursuit list, just in case. You might as well enter the maximum number of skaters your allowed; you just never know what will happen, so you keep the team's options open. And adding Shani as one of the people just in case made sense. If he chose to skate the pursuit, he was definitely capable of doing it well, so why not keep his options open, just in case he changes his mind?
I believe someone from USS, probably Katy Marquard or Tom Cushman, as the people who chose to add Shani's name, should have a) sat Chad Hedrick down and told HIM how Shani's name got on that list so Chad could stop making public statements based on incorrect information and b)issued a statement that it was USS coaches, etc who chose to put Shani's name on the list as a just in case choice.
This is a classic case of a communication breakdown that's not unheard of with USS. Athletes aren't dogs - they don't always sit and speak on command; sometimes you gotta speak to 'em and 'splain your plans and reasons.
I give kudos to Shani for cheering Chad so vehemently during the 10,000m. And I'm glad NBC spent a few minutes on that, after all the time they spent on the negative.
Posted by: Trisha on March 12, 2006 04:25 PM
