Bobek enters guilty plea; 8/16 UPDATE-sentenced to 5 years probation

[succubus]

Well, we all know how children of lesbian relationships are the worst, most out of control....oh wait a minute.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/...-well-adjusted

That's even assuming that Nicole's mother was IN a lesbian relationship.

[Marney0612]

What is the distinction between prison and jail?

[agalisgv]

Jail is for shorter sentences (varies, but often no longer than 2 years). Prison is for terms longer than that.

[skatingfan5]

Jail is for shorter sentences (varies, but often no longer than 2 years). Prison is for terms longer than that.

Also, jails are usually locally-run (i.e. by city and/or county) while prisons are state or federal institutions.

[catnip]

It sounded as though Nicole didn't have all that bad a time of it her first short stint in jail in New Jersey, organizing an exercise class, charming her peers, doing crafts, etc. If she goes to that same jail (she described it as 4 star) and has a lot of freedom to do as she wishes, it might not be bad at all. If anyone ever knew how to have a good time under less than perfect circumstances, it was Nicole.

Prison is a different animal. Her life would not be her own, she would have to be looking over her shoulder the entire time, and she could easily come out more addicted than ever. The thought of her in prison makes my stomach ache, but her landing in prison sounds quite unlikely.

I very much doubt that Nicole ran the drug ring. I used to worry that she wouldn't succeed as a skating coach or choreographer precisely because she wasn't organized, educated, or disciplined enough to manage the details. Taking part in an organization, even at a high level, and running it are two completely different things.

Best of luck to you, sweet girl. There is a place for you and your gentle heart in this nutty world and I'm crossing my fingers that you find it.

[wickedwitch]

At least it will get her off meth.

[heckles]

I very much doubt that Nicole ran the drug ring. I used to worry that she wouldn't succeed as a skating coach or choreographer precisely because she wasn't organized, educated, or disciplined enough to manage the details.

I think you're overestimating your average busted crank boss. The police generally aren't coming upon Rhodes Scholar paperwork when they pull apart a crystal lab.

[skatingfan5]

I still maintain that being "actively involved in the upper echelon of" and "running/heading" a drug ring are not the same thing. If Nicole were actually the leader/top dog of a major drug ring, she would not have been able to plea down to a charge which has probation as a possible outcome (not that I think that will be likely -- some jail time is much more likely). The guy to whom she sold the meth still faces charges that could put him in prison for 20 years. I'm not trying to excuse or minimize what Nicole has done -- it is very bad. But, like catnip, I do not believe that she was in charge of running the drug ring.

[Allskate]

She's a world championship bronze medallist...how can one acheive that without having their life together?

Do you also think that Christopher Bowman had his life together? After all, he was a world champion silver medalist.

If she's only getting a year in prison, she either provided authorities with a whole lot of useful information or wasn't one of the higher-ups. I don't think there's any drug that the police and judges hate more right now than meth. I hope she's not addicted to meth herself because that is one ugly drug.

[Muffin]

Tonya Harding also has a national title, and she never had it together either. Nicole's perpetual lack of discipline, love of partying, and refusal to accept responsibility for her behavior back when she was a skater all foreshadowed where she has wound up.

As someone who has had extensive experience with US drug policy via my job, they pretty much charge everybody with being the upper leadership of the drug ring, and then plea them down in exchange for information about other dealers. Going by the wording of the charges, everybody sounds like Pablo Escobar, even when it's just some guy and his girlfriend dealing smack to their friends from their trailer.

[PeterG]

Do you also think that Christopher Bowman had his life together? After all, he was a world champion silver medalist.

I don't see the world as all-black or all-white. Just a billion different shades of gray.

Bowman had his skating life together, as his medals clearly prove. Did he have problems outside of his career? For sure. But a person is not a complete basket case when they are successfully acheiving things that someone like myself will only dream about accomplishing...

Tonya Harding also has a national title, and she never had it together either.

She also has a World silver medal and almost won an Olympic bronze medal. To infer that someone with those accomplishments is a total basket-case is utterly ludicrious in my eyes!

[Allskate]

I don't see the world as all-black or all-white. Just a billion different shades of gray.

Bowman had his skating life together, as his medals clearly prove.

I think Frank Carroll probably would disagree with you. I don't think that medals show that you have your skating life together. And just because he was more successful than you in terms of medals doesn't mean he had his skating life together, either. No offense, but I'm guessing that you don't have nearly as much skating talent as Bowman or Bobek ever had. If a skater doesn't have a good relationship with his or her coach, is a yo-yo in terms of fitness and training, is abusing his or her body with drugs while training, isn't skating to his or her potential, and is getting medals because other people simply screwed up more than they did, I don't consider them to have their skating lives together.

Also, just because someone doesn't achieve a lot in terms of medals doesn't mean that they don't have their lives together. Medals just aren't a very accurate measure of how much a skater has their life together, IMO, including their skating life.

I get the sense that just about everyone who knew Bowman when he was skating competitively thought he was a basket case. And many thought the same of Bobek. Just because they had tons of raw talent and charisma they could fall back on to compensate for their failings in terms of training, coaching, etc., doesn't mean they weren't very screwed up, including in their skating lives.

[Iceman]

Some people, especially naturally talented ones, achieve in spite of being a basket case, total or otherwise. Van Gough was a total basket case, but still his achievements were monumental although, sadly, during his own life he only sold one painting and that was, I believe, to his brother. Monty Clift was a brilliant actor, but, again, a total basket case.
And the list goes on and on.

[essence_of_soy]

Bobek, Harding and Bowman in many ways remind me of child stars who have problems transitioning to adulthood. Once the regimented structure of their training existence passes, they no longer have that sense of identity or recognition.

[jlai]

Depends on what you mean by "having your life together". I think successful people are just like normal people. They may have a successful career but have disastrous relationships, have run-ins with laws, struggle with finances, try drugs and what-nots. But that kind of thing happens among normal people too. Of course, when these other non-career-related problems interfere with your career then yeah, everyone then say you don't have your lfie together.

[Frau Muller]

Bobek, Harding and Bowman in many ways remind me of child stars who have problems transitioning to adulthood. Once the regimented structure of their training existence passes, they no longer have that sense of identity or recognition.

I see your point...but how does that explain the mischief in the midst of the "training existence" years? Bobek had run-ins with the law during the very year when she won Nationals (some stealing incident). Bowman had the well-documented 'mugging' in Canada while he was still at the elite level, when he was training with Toller Cranston.

[soogar]

I think Frank Carroll probably would disagree with you. I don't think that medals show that you have your skating life together. And just because he was more successful than you in terms of medals doesn't mean he had his skating life together, either. No offense, but I'm guessing that you don't have nearly as much skating talent as Bowman or Bobek ever had.

A long time ago, around the time Christopher Bowman won his world bronze medal, I was taking lessons from someone who had passed senior freestyle and figures tests. We were casually talking about worlds and I commented that Christopher Bowman was not a hard worker and she totally disagreed with me. She said that it took a lot of hard work to reach that level- heck just to pass senior figures tests and that no one who was truly lazy could reach that level. Sheer athletic talent can only take you so far. There are plenty of kids at local rinks who have the knack for the sport but don't have the discipline, perseverance, money or familial support to even pass the required senior tests.

Christopher and Nicole probably didn't train with the intensity and focus that an Evan or Michelle trained at but they definitely put in a lot of hours of training and had to have some semblance of organization to their training lives. Christopher himself has said (paraphrasing) that he was incredibly proud of his skating accomplishments and that skating was the only thing he took pride in and was serious about. There are a lot of people who experience personal turmoil but are very organized and together when it comes to their careers.

As for Nicole, I don't see how her competitive career could be indicative of her inability to run a drug ring. She and her family were able to pick up and move at a moment's notice and secure training facilities and good coaching through her many changes. Something like that takes a lot of organizational skill. They may not have been the best decisions but neither is running/participating in a meth ring.

From random updates on Nicole, it seemed that she had invested her money in a Florida boutique and several residences (main one in Florida). Maybe when her COI money stopped she needed to find another way to keep the money coming in for her lifestyle.

[PeterG]

entire post

[snoopy]

Perhaps people mean different things by the phrase, not having your life together. To me, I agree with jlai's post. Not having your life together means not having your personal center or compass to guide you as peacefully as possible. And that doesn't mean you can't be successful or hard working, just that it is easier for you to lose your way. 75% of my days I do not have my life together.

[Carolla5501]

I think we can say that if you are going to jail/prision... your life is not "together" in a way that MOST of us would think is "good". As to the sucess of said life.... that's up to the person in question.