Eric Radford and Vanessa James to compete in pairs together for Canada

[tony]

Putting on my academic hat... social media use, if done wisely, can help alleviate loneliness and foster social connections. Some people benefit from the support they can get online. It can be especially meaningful if you're dealing with things that people in your offline life can't fully understand.

(kind of like FSU )

I don't think Duhamel's post is necessarily all about this this, but I can absolutely see how it's helpful for her to vent and to have people support her.

I agree here, but I'm also coming from a generation that his built up on their presence through social media. I don't see any difference from what she did to, let's say, the 'things that annoy me' thread on FSU or any serious discussion except that many people prefer not to use their real names here. But the mission is often just the same: to vent and reach many more people than just sticking to a close circle of friends or maybe not having all that many people to talk to in general. Why should it be criticized when it's coming from an actual person's name when people relate to and feel bad for aliases and silly user names constantly?

The younger generations are much more prone to using their actual names on Facebook and even on Instagram instead of aliases. But I think the purpose ends up somewhat the same. Match that with CV and the depressions or loneliness that many people are experiencing, and here we are.

 

[BlueRidge]

People make friends online all the time? Your meaning of "meaningful" may be different - but don't attack people who have different approaches. Also - we're living in a global *********, during which social media has been a huge help to many people.

Just because you don't understand social media, doesn't make it bad.

I know all about online communities; I've been on FSU for 20 years and its an a wonderful community. But that's not the same as sending social media posts to the winds for everyone in the world to see.

I'm not attacking Meagan, its the zeitgeist to put it out to the world and I can certainly see why she feels hurt that Radford didn't talk to her personally first--which kind of proves MY POINT, you know.

I mean maybe he should just have posted it to social media? Why should he have talked to her personally if social media is the be all and the end all.

I know I sound like my grandmother about stuff in 1975 but I think that often people's use of social media is emotionally voyeuristic and as such quite an ugly phenomenon. Meagan needs a hug. I hope there are people in her life who can give it to her and I feel truly sad for the people whose only human validation comes from anonymous posts on social media.

 

[Kateri]

Eric should have talked to Meagan. But if he'd done that, she might have offered to return to competition, and he'd have to tell her to her face that he'd rather skate with Vanessa than with her.

Break-ups always suck, even non-romantic ones. Sometimes you gotta be the "bad guy", because it's still the more honest and honourable thing to do. Takes a lot of bravery, though.

 

[MsZem]

Maybe they're doing it because they enjoy skating together and want to see what they can do with the partnership, for however long it lasts. Going to the Olympics is not the only reason that people want to skate.

Maybe James wants to become the first skater to represent two different countries at the World Team Trophy

 

[manhn]

I am excited for this new pairing, but I do feel bad for Duhamel. I wonder if she and Dylan would pair up for shows?

 

[missing]

Why? So fans can have more to talk about?

I see no reason why any of the personal emotional stuff needs to be shared with the whole world.

But like I said, I'm old. Maybe my view makes no sense to people who have grown up telling all on social media. I find it bizarre and not constructive.

My guess is when Eddie left Debbie for Liz, Debbie confided her personal emotional stuff to Hedda and Louella, who then reported it to their millions of readers.

Heck, when Alexander Hamilton got accused of financial misdeeds, he wrote a pamphlet all about how he cheated on his wife.

The need to get your side of the story out has plenty of pre-internet historic precedence.

 

[Xsktrx]

Can we somehow combine this thread with Canadian Pairs? My thumbs are getting whiplash going back and forth between the two threads.

 

[RoseRed]

Eric should have talked to Meagan. But if he'd done that, she might have offered to return to competition, and he'd have to tell her to her face that he'd rather skate with Vanessa than with her.

Break-ups always suck, even non-romantic ones. Sometimes you gotta be the "bad guy", because it's still the more honest and honourable thing to do. Takes a lot of bravery, though.

I hadn't thought about it like that but it wouldn't shock me if that has something to do with him waiting to tell her.

 

[MsZem]

The need to get your side of the story out has plenty of pre-internet historic precedence.

Yes - social media can magnify certain things, but ultimately people are people, and we see new variations on things that already existed.

 

[PRlady]

I think that is precisely the difference.

Agreed. I have an employee leaving about 1/3 of the way through a major, major project on which she was the second-most-important person. She's known about it for mnths and has been working on it since February, knowing it wouldn't be done til next winter. Yet she jobhunted with her second anniversary coming up, gave me two weeks notice and is leaving me in the lurch AFTER she knows I protected her from my boss who wanted to fire her last summer....

This POs me somewhat more than my other employee, not key to this project, who let me know in December he was applying to law school and would leave in July and who is helping find his successor.

Circumstances are everything. Having already paid for choreo, costumes, coaching and whatnot for an upcoming competitive season is a lot different than "we'll skate in shows together whenever they start happening" with no investment yet in anything needed for those shows.

 

[ostile17]

So maybe Duhamel's sister-in-law (?) new about this months before she did and didn't say anything? Is that part of the personal betrayal Duhamel mentioned a few days ago?

And did Bruno know?

 

[genevieve]

Agreed. I have an employee leaving about 1/3 of the way through a major, major project on which she was the second-most-important person. She's known about it for mnths and has been working on it since February, knowing it wouldn't be done til next winter. Yet she jobhunted with her second anniversary coming up, gave me two weeks notice and is leaving me in the lurch AFTER she knows I protected her from my boss who wanted to fire her last summer....

The professional relationship between a supervisor and a staff person is really not comparable here IMO

 

[PRlady]

People make friends online all the time? Your meaning of "meaningful" may be different - but don't attack people who have different approaches. Also - we're living in a global *********, during which social media has been a huge help to many people.

Just because you don't understand social media, doesn't make it bad.

As @BlueRidge 's unimaginary friend in RL, I assure you she knows that. And I happen to think that venting on social media when you're a public person and are looking to prevent or cause reputation damage is SOP these days. But BR has a point that in terms of the actual relationship with the RL person, it's not constructive.

 

[briancoogaert]

What an amazing news.
I know it's still a long road before seeing them skating at a high level, it will be difficult but they are both experienced and very talented. Can't wait to watch them together, in competition or not !

 

[ostile17]

Eric should have talked to Meagan. But if he'd done that, she might have offered to return to competition, and he'd have to tell her to her face that he'd rather skate with Vanessa than with her.

...and too coward to do that! Yikes

 

[MarieM]

“Poor me” social media posts are the worst.

Very instructive to take a look at the latest nasty string of TSL tweets that are all likely to have come from Meagan.

I share this view.

Good luck to them, but the few clips look very promising IMO.

 

[Xsktrx]

In recent years, bad Kirsten, poor Dylan, bad Charlie, poor Julianne and now bad Eric poor Meagan. Classless actions aside somehow the fans all eventually end up cheering like mad for the new team and no doubt once this has settled down the same will apply to Vanessa and Eric, especially if they are good and world class. I mean if golf fans quickly got behind Tiger Woods again post cheating many times on his pregnant wife.....

 

[overedge]

In recent years, bad Kirsten, poor Dylan, bad Charlie, poor Julianne and now bad Eric poor Meagan. Classless actions aside somehow the fans all eventually end up cheering like mad for the new team and no doubt once this has settled down the same will apply to Vanessa and Eric, especially if they are good and world class. I mean if golf fans quickly got behind Tiger Woods again post cheating many times on his pregnant wife.....

Golf is a completely different sport in terms of how players relate to fans.

Also, Tiger Woods took some responsibility for what he did, and tried to make amends.

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

I don't imagine that 2026 is in the horizon for Eric and Vanessa, but I can see them potentially considering beyond the 2022 Olympic season. Montreal is highly probable to get 2024 Worlds, so that may also be an intriguing reason to stay in and compete at a Home worlds after having had a couple of seasons to completely gel. Especially as they are living and training in Quebec now.

 

[Xsktrx]

Golf is a completely different sport in terms of how players relate to fans.

Also, Tiger Woods took some responsibility for what he did, and tried to make amends.

No disputing that and not saying I approve of any of it but I doubt we’ll hear any boos come competition time.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

I suppose Eric could have convinced himself that not telling Meagan before it was a done deal was the nice and proper thing to do because it would protect her feelings if the new partnership did not happen. It is easy to talk yourself into not doing what you don't want to do, but it sure does make me think Eric's a bit of a coward at best.

 

[Vagabond]

There is a way to tell people potentially upsetting news whilst still having respect and decency for them.

Do you mean like writing someone a private letter saying that he has hurt your feelings instead of broadcasting it to the whole wide world?

 

[Willin]

My two cents: Being a drama queen with a bad reaction to things doesn't mean Meagan wasn't screwed over here. Eric needed to communicate with Meagan. I think she'd understand and be more supportive of the pair if Eric had explained things to her and talked to her, and it sounds like she's not upset about the partnership itself - just how she was treated. On the other hand, I also think it's a bit shady on his side to come back given that Meagan had talked about a potential comeback for 2022 and Eric was the one that told her he wanted to retire. If it's true that he's screwing Meagan out of existing show contracts (and money) with no communication, that's even worse.

As much as I love the juicy drama we get to see, I'll be more interested in the behind the scenes and future drama. Like how many bridges James and Radford burned by handling this the way they did. Certainly the other Canadian senior pairs and up-and-coming junior pairs will not be happy - their coaches as well. Or even the idea that while shows may book three-time Olympic medalists Duhamel/Radford, will they book a one-season wonder James/Radford that's been involved in a lot of drama? Or the conflict of interest in Radford's participation in SC's board?

 

[rfisher]

They had commitments to actual tours that are planned and set up? Eric set himself for lawsuits if that's the case. Depending on what he said, when he said it, and if he communicated the same to the tour organizers. Of course, both the tour and Meagan have to prove damages.

Wouldn't her loss of revenue be considered damages? If I were her, I'd be having this conversation with a good lawyer rather than IG.

 

[calica]

Very instructive to take a look at the latest nasty string of TSL tweets that are all likely to have come from Meagan.

TSL is so disgusting ..if these tweets come from Meaghan ( i think so too), I can understand why Eric has regained his illusion with another pair and also that he has not said anything to Meaghan

 

[allezfred]

I see Jonathan "Crying In A Bathroom In Grenoble" Beyer is upset that he was unfollowed by Vanessa after he posted something nice* about Meagan.

*Passive-aggressive

 

[MsZem]

As much as I love the juicy drama we get to see, I'll be more interested in the behind the scenes and future drama. Like how many brides James and Radford burned by handling this the way they did. Certainly the other Canadian senior pairs and up-and-coming junior pairs will not be happy - their coaches as well. Or even the idea that while shows may book three-time Olympic medalists Duhamel/Radford, will they book a one-season wonder James/Radford that's been involved in a lot of drama? Or the conflict of interest in Radford's participation in SC's board?

It's pretty minor drama for anyone not on skating Twitter/skating forums; very inside baseball as far as casual fans and the general public are concerned. Skate Canada seems perfectly happy to have them, and Vanessa James has built up a public profile by doing Battle of the Blades. On a shallow note, she's also absolutely stunning. It's not a long-term partnership with the results Duhamel/Radford had, but they shouldn't suffer for opportunities.

It doesn't really matter if other pairs, especially juniors, aren't happy - they have no power and no say in this. And I'm sure James/Radford are well aware of the political side of skating, and prepared to deal with it.

 

[thvu]

I’m honestly surprised so many people feel bad for Duhamel. She’s clearly trying to control the narrative and is fishing for sympathy.

This isn’t someone going through a hard time and looking for a community to lean on. This is someone choosing what to share in order to paint herself in the best light as a victim.

 

[PRlady]

There was so much when V/M came back and put a stick in the plans of other Canadian dancers. And how dare Sasha try to “take a spot" at Olys 2010? So much moaning for Robin and Elena I and all the other dumpees. While I would always prefer amiable breakups, skating is a profession, not a hobby for these people and they are going to follow their own best interest. Meagan, whom I've always liked, has her medals and her family and was not in an active partnership when this happened, so onwards.

 

[Sparks]

There was so much when V/M came back and put a stick in the plans of other Canadian dancers. And how dare Sasha "take a spot" at Olys 2010? So much moaning for Robin and Elena I and all the other dumpees. While I would always prefer amiable breakups, skating is a profession, not a hobby for these people and they are going to follow their own best interest. Meagan, whom I've always liked, has her medals and her family and was not in an active partnership when this happened, so onwards.

I agree with this, except Sasha didn't take a spot at the 2010 Olys. Carry on.