Inappropriate commentary

[ElleW22]

I'm trying to put a list together of ALL the inappropriate commentary of skaters over the years. Can you help me??
Examples I'm looking for are:
1- Commentators commenting on a skaters body in a sexualized manner
2- Commentators commenting on body/weight or other personal appearance
3- Commentators NOT mentioning anything about an accusation or investigation (ie: No one saying why Sorensen was not competing at 2024? Nationals)

Looking for EXACT quote/examples not general statements about how someone may have spoken about a skater or the sport please.
Open to any and all examples from any network, country event, or year. BONUS points to anyone who has the video/audio to go with it.

 

[Aceon6]

Help us understand the context. Are you gathering info for a legal proceeding? Representing an individual or individuals for a rebuttal? Doing scholarly writing? Or just curious? If the latter, Google is your friend.

 

[MacMadame]

You do realize that there are literally thousands of such incidents? And that's just what is available to the public. It doesn't include comments at local club comps, coaches at rinks, etc.

 

[On My Own]

BONUS points

What can I do with them?

 

[Coco]

Not for skating but gymnastics:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/comments/tadqn5/best_of_the_worst_monica_phelps_quotes/

Lately, Google hasn't been my friend. The AI summaries are hit or miss.

 

[Wyliefan]

Lately, Google hasn't been my friend. The AI summaries are hit or miss.

They're useless the majority of the time. I just scroll past them and look at the results below them.

 

[Vagabond]

Ecosia is your friend, and it's better for the environment.

 

[Private Citizen]

A few examples from the 1990s:

Kurt Browning called 13-year-old Michelle Kwan sexy (https://youtu.be/Lboyhb7VX9k?si=eVJQJK3OTPG5lXuc&t=83)

Dick Button wanted to spank Nicole Bobek a few times and wring her neck another time - can't find the clips.

Scott Hamilton commented on Tonya Harding being visibly overweight at 1992 Skate Canada: https://youtu.be/d0HnEE1LN4M?si=zy6GpYcbWo_EpOyO&t=25. Listen also to the clip at 1:30. To be fair, Tonya was overweight. She herself said she lost 10 lb in the three weeks between Skate Canada and the pro-am. She was described in the press as overweight throughout 1992, e.g., https://time.com/archive/6719575/1992-winter-olympics-spinning-gold/

Natalia Mishkutenok's weight gain was discussed in a fluff piece around the 1994 Olympics: https://youtu.be/IJaEj9wDJNA?si=ABBH35n2gKXyROnK&t=135. The entire treatment of Natalia in the fluff piece is outrageous.

 

[On My Own]

Kurt Browning called 13-year-old Michelle Kwan sexy (https://youtu.be/Lboyhb7VX9k?si=eVJQJK3OTPG5lXuc&t=83)

Isn't this par for course in much of media?

Not at all to justify that. But as an example, here's something about the actor Taylor Lautner when he was 17. https://youtu.be/110OUbEVw_0?si=yA84ZJg0oJjNMzAM&t=388

 

[Private Citizen]

Isn't this par for course in much of media?

I found it outrageous given that Kwan was a pre-pubescent 13-year-old who was just skating her programs.

I think there's a big difference between that and the example you gave, which is a 17-year-old guy who had gone through puberty and was engaging in commercial activities (photo shoots, etc.) showing off his physique in a way designed to be sexy and suggestive. Yes, he was a minor, but a lot closer to adulthood and past the age of consent.

I'd have had less of an issue with the Kwan comment even in 1996, when she started to present in a more mature, adult-like way (though it still would've been inappropriate). In 1994 with her pink costume, ponytail, no makeup? It's friggin' creepy and makes Browning sound like a pedophile.

 

[Cachoo]

Not sure this fits your parameters....

https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/w7t97v/eteri_tutberidze_one_gram_of_fat_is_one_gram_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

 

[just tuned in]

Help us understand the context. Are you gathering info for a legal proceeding? Representing an individual or individuals for a rebuttal? Doing scholarly writing? Or just curious? If the latter, Google is your friend.

Or writing a book? Are you planning to compensate your informants?

 

[carriecmu0503]

Who can forget this one?!

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figure-skating/isu-replaces-commentators-apology-meagan-duhamel-1.6396109

 

[myhoneyhoney]

I know I wanted to smack Scott Hamilton when he was commenting on Natalia Mishkutionok during the 1994 Olympics pairs.

 

[tony]

The weight thing was always a mainstay in skating commentary well into the early 2000s. ABC used to list the skaters weights in the splash screen before they skated, I think into the early 90s. Dick Button used to rip into skaters being out of shape, too, especially throughout the 80s. I think one of the last instances I can remember off the top of my head was Sokolova in the fall of 2003 where ABC decided to show both of her Grand Prix free skates even though she was finishing like 9th in her events (World silver medalist and all). Pretty sure both Dick and Peggy really went in on her physique at Skate Canada.