Gracie Gold set to return

[mollymgr]

It's weird that the video got taken down.
I really liked the way she put things into perspective. It was a nice and long interview so she could speak freely without being cut off. I liked hearing about her experience at Sochi, the pressure before, during and after the Olympics. It was so sad to hear about her struggles in her family life and her relying on skating to escape from it, only to have that fall apart on her too. That must have been so devastating.

 

[Debbie S]

Frankly to me that's just a bunch of mess that was unnecessary by the interviewer. I believe that the interviewer thought he/she would receive attention for it. If that's the case, then the interviewer took cheap shots and the video should have never even been shown for the public to see … period.

The interview was very respectfully done. I believe the interviewer mentioned that he himself had struggled with depression, and it was obvious that he admired Gracie (she gave his daughter a lesson). As others have posted, it was Gracie who joked about cronuts. There were no "cheap shots." It is possible that he got some negative comments about those parts and/or USFS wasn't happy....although I thought Gracie handled that part well - she admitted that USFS didn't know what was going on with her and she could see how it looked from their perspective, that she was an athlete who wasn't prepared like the others were.

 

[Simone411]

It's weird that the video got taken down.
I really liked the way she put things into perspective. It was a nice and long interview so she could speak freely without being cut off. I liked hearing about her experience at Sochi, the pressure before, during and after the Olympics. It was so sad to hear about her struggles in her family life and her relying on skating to escape from it, only to have that fall apart on her too. That must have been so devastating.

Thank you for posting. I missed the video, and I may have misunderstood about the interviewer. I wish now I could have watched it. I'm glad you gave your rendition of the interview.

 

[Simone411]

The interview was very respectfully done. I believe the interviewer mentioned that he himself had struggled with depression, and it was obvious that he admired Gracie (she gave his daughter a lesson). As others have posted, it was Gracie who joked about cronuts. There were no "cheap shots." It is possible that he got some negative comments about those parts and/or USFS wasn't happy....although I thought Gracie handled that part well - she admitted that USFS didn't know what was going on with her and she could see how it looked from their perspective, that she was an athlete who wasn't prepared like the others were.

Thank you for explaining this, also. It's very much appreciated. I'm just sorry I misunderstood.

 

[happycamper2554]

Yes I would like to know who helped Gracie after being shocked by what Gracie was telling them. She made it out to sound like it was a fellow skater.

Absolutely, and another member helped as well. Thank goodness they did.

I know we will never know for sure who it was. but if anyone wants to jump down the rabbit hole. Gracie made it seem like it was a girl. This is a list of the ladies who were in the group picture from last years champs camp. Thanks to @Sylvia , I copied the list from her post in last year's champs camp thread.
Tarah Kayne
Karen Chen
Lorraine McNamara
Deanna Stellato
Kaitlin Hawayek
Rachel Parsons
Haven Denny
Bradie Tennell
Mirai Nagasu
Alexa Scimeca Knierim
Elliana Pogrebenisky
Polina Edmonds
Ashley Wagner
Madison Chock
Marissa Castelli
Madison Hubbell
Maia Shibutani
Ashley Cain

 

[Jarrett]

I contacted the interviewer on Instagram and he said the video would be back up; however, Gracie has some media obligations to do before it can be put back up.

 

[GullyGirl84]

Strange. I still would like to know more about the situation leading up to Champs Camp, but we’ll probably never know more. Gracie does say that she kept telling people that “it’s fine”, but I am still confused that the collective fan reaction starting at Stars on Ice when Gracie was doing doubles, seemed to be forgetting choreography, and messing up things like spins was “Is Gracie ok?”, but the fed and her team thought that she could just proceed as usual into champs camp and the grand prix. And wasn’t she training with Marina that summer? I’m hoping that at least someone was reaching out and that Gracie just wasn’t ready to accept it yet, but I still maintain that the fed must have been blind if their reaction was making insensitive comments instead of asking her if she needs help. I am grateful that at least skaters on team USA knew well enough to take active measures to help her. We’ll never know who it was, but a small part of me was wondering if it was Ashley (and if the other person on team USA who she mentions was Adam), since it seems like they all got closer after Stars on Ice that year, and I believe that she was seen eating with Ashley and Adam before she went into treatment. Pure speculation on my part though, which I probably shouldn’t do. Gracie is close to others on team USA though too....

I’ve always found Gracie’s interviews more candid than she ever got credit for, I would definitely read a book by her if she ever wrote one. I remember after nationals this year, she tweeted that she had some opinions on the outcome, but that she probably shouldn’t say anything if she ever wanted to make a comeback in US figure skating. I remember Mirai talking at some point this year that her mother told her after 2014 that she shouldn’t talk much about it and risk pissing off the fed and not getting assignments (my words, not theirs ).

 

[analia]

Her problem seems seriously complicated. I wouldn't fault USFS for not understanding her situation.

 

[lotte86]

What a great and honest interview! So good to hear her tell about her struggles, I really wish her all the best.

Really strange that it is deleted without a comment.
I have the video saved on my computer so if anyone is interested send me a dm. I don't think i'm allowed to post a download link here.

 

[Firedancer]

Strange. I still would like to know more about the situation leading up to Champs Camp, but we’ll probably never know more. Gracie does say that she kept telling people that “it’s fine”, but I am still confused that the collective fan reaction starting at Stars on Ice when Gracie was doing doubles, seemed to be forgetting choreography, and messing up things like spins was “Is Gracie ok?”, but the fed and her team thought that she could just proceed as usual into champs camp and the grand prix. And wasn’t she training with Marina that summer? I’m hoping that at least someone was reaching out and that Gracie just wasn’t ready to accept it yet, but I still maintain that the fed must have been blind if their reaction was making insensitive comments instead of asking her if she needs help. I am grateful that at least skaters on team USA knew well enough to take active measures to help her. We’ll never know who it was, but a small part of me was wondering if it was Ashley (and if the other person on team USA who she mentions was Adam), since it seems like they all got closer after Stars on Ice that year, and I believe that she was seen eating with Ashley and Adam before she went into treatment. Pure speculation on my part though, which I probably shouldn’t do. Gracie is close to others on team USA though too....

I’ve always found Gracie’s interviews more candid than she ever got credit for, I would definitely read a book by her if she ever wrote one. I remember after nationals this year, she tweeted that she had some opinions on the outcome, but that she probably shouldn’t say anything if she ever wanted to make a comeback in US figure skating. I remember Mirai talking at some point this year that her mother told her after 2014 that she shouldn’t talk much about it and risk pissing off the fed and not getting assignments (my words, not theirs ).

I thought it might be Ashley and Adam too. They both have been really supportive of her, which is great to see.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

This is looking into the distant future.

But I would like to think that Gold would make a very good counsellor or liaison support officer, should the USFSA implement that kind of opportunity.

As an outsider, I see the association as a business, and the athletes as their commodities.

Hopefully Gold's honesty and transparency will help reconfigure their administration.

 

[concorde]

Since concorde's post was in July, I don't think she was talking about Champs Camp. It sounds like "they" are people concorde knows who saw Gracie practicing at the rink. Since that was 3 months ago, I don't know how relevant that is to the present.

"They" are skaters who skate in the Delaware / Pennsylvania area which is where IceWorks is located. We do not skate there so it was all second hand information but my sources tend to be extremely reliable. I have not asked for an update since then.

Based on the comments I heard back in July, I expect Gracie to withdraw any day now. I LOVE Gracie's skating but I really doubt she can improve that much in a couple of months.

I really want to be more optimistic.

 

[Frau Muller]

I could see him shutting down the account due to the insensitive comments about suicide he made. As funny as "USFS mafia" sounds, I could also see USFSA getting after him since some not-so-flattering things were said about them, however brief those comments were...

Either way, good for Gracie. She sounds (and looks) much better. I'm really happy that she got the help she needed and has returned to skating.

Her self-awareness was pretty impressive. It was interesting to hear her talk about the fact that she was that perfectly packaged ice princess and what impact it had on her. It also adds some good context to her recent change of public persona and her decision to return to the ice.

Not just USFS. The comments may not fit NBC marketing plans. Grrrr...

 

[VGThuy]

I thought it might be Ashley and Adam too. They both have been really supportive of her, which is great to see.

That's actually who I thought it was. Either her or Tarah Kayne just based on close she seems with Tarah and Adam on social media.

 

[Maximillian]

Or maybe we can just wait for Gracie to say who it was (or not)…

Sorry, I just find this type of speculation a little gross and creepy...

 

[Jarrett]

Or maybe we can just wait for Gracie to say who it was (or not)…

Sorry, I just find this type of speculation a little gross and creepy...

I have a feeling the posters wanting to know (or even talking about it) want to celebrate someone that helped Gracie...at least I do.

 

[VGThuy]

I have a feeling the posters wanting to know (or even talking about it) want to celebrate someone that helped Gracie...at least I do.

I'm curious to know who the person was who proactively took steps to help Gracie without hesitation and use her as a model for how organizations like USFS who are control over so many athletes, especially young ones, should handle these types of situations. I also think the USFS should look into this and see how someone like Gracie felt unable to come forward to them and instead ended up confiding with a fellow team member. It's in an organization's best interest to ensure athlete safety (physically and otherwise) and to make sure athletes feel safe confiding in them rather than be afraid that confiding in them would lead to some sort of dismissal or other sort of consequences.

I guess it's a little "creepy" but it's no less creepy than being into skater's interviews and learning more about their personal life in the first place.

 

[demetriosj]

I believe all USFS cares about is winning medals. They do not show concern for skaters that might be hitting a rough patch. There's always someone else in the wings. These skaters are expendable to them. It's a shame.

 

[Maximillian]

I have a feeling the posters wanting to know (or even talking about it) want to celebrate someone that helped Gracie...at least I do.

That's fine, and people are entitled to do what they want,but I do find it a bit odd, that the interview was posted a day ago and within a handful of posts after its posting it immediately went to speculation...despite the fact that the interview was like an hour and twenty minutes long and Gracie talked about SO many things. There were so many things to be extracted from the interview, but this thread 'went there', really quickly.

I just find the whole idea of creating a speculative (i.e. fantasy) narrative around a very real (and serious) situation, something akin to 'shipping', wherein a fan (or fans) decides that such and such skaters are acting out particular roles in a narrative which exists entirely in their minds, and (to me, at least) undermines the reality of the actual story, as all of the sudden it becomes less about what Gracie actually said and more about imagined heroics that have been entirely contrived by a fan or a group of fans. When it comes to what Gracie was talking about (depression, etal), I'd rather focus on what she did talk about, rather than what she did not.

Sometimes it's okay not to know and just leave it at that.

Again, JMO

 

[GullyGirl84]

I can definitely see both sides of it (sorry for any theorizing that I did about specific people...kind of knew that was dangerous territory). Gracie clearly would have named names if she wanted us to know. Though I also feel like I read enough speculative nonsense of this board on the regular that I just decided to go for it. We know so much less about these people's lives or even the day in day outs of their training lives,than we would like to think. Regardless of who it was, I'm thankful that there were people there for Gracie when she needed them, and for others having been supportive of her afterwards. It sounds like Gracie will be doing some more media in the near future at least.

 

[VGThuy]

That's fine, and people are entitled to do what they want,but I do find it a bit odd, that the interview was posted a day ago and within a handful of posts after its posting it immediately went to speculation...despite the fact that the interview was like an hour and twenty minutes long and Gracie talked about SO many things. There were so many things to be extracted from the interview, but this thread 'went there', really quickly.

I just find the whole idea of creating a speculative (i.e. fantasy) narrative around a very real (and serious) situation, something akin to 'shipping', wherein a fan (or fans) decides that such and such skaters are acting out particular roles in a narrative which exists entirely in their minds, and (to me, at least) undermines the reality of the actual story, as all of the sudden it becomes less about what Gracie actually said and more about imagined heroics that have been entirely contrived by a fan or a group of fans. When it comes to what Gracie was talking about (depression, etal), I'd rather focus on what she did talk about, rather than what she did not.

Sometimes it's okay not to know and just leave it at that.

Again, JMO

I actually understand that. I was curious as to who it was, as I was curious about who within the organization made those insensitive comments. I also was not able to watch the whole hour video as I missed my chance so I was only able to go by the highlighted points of the interview as recorded by the article. Honestly, I really don't care who it was. I was just happy somebody was proactive and think it's behavior that should be modeled, especially by the USFS for reasons I explained in my previous post. As for focusing on "the heroics" rather than Gracie, I do think a lot of people were talking about the various issues Gracie spoke about, including disordered eating. I think it was just a small thread drift where people were wondering who she may have been talking about. It's a bit gossipy but that naturally happens and it will naturally drift back to something else in the interview when it's re-posted.

 

[Sonata]

I feel like one day we will learn who it was, once some time has passed and both that person and Gracie feel comfortable talking about this in public and helping others by doing so. What I find interesting is this passage:

"“She didn’t know what to say, but she just sprung into action,” Gold said. “She and another member were really some of the fundamental people in getting me the help that I needed.”"

Personally, I don't quite know what I would do if someone suddenly turned to me in crisis, away from home. Sure I could encourage them to "get help", but sounds like this person did even more than that, without knowing exactly what to do at first. I'm curious as to how this person sprang into action, who did she speak to, and how did she get Gracie to accept the help? Was this the first time that Gracie opened up to anyone about what had happened?

There's a lot to learn from this that goes beyond skating. It's a good reminder that certain comments, like pointing out to someone that they have lots of things and that they have nothing to be depressed about, are not useful. While maybe said with the intention to cheer the person up, it makes them sometimes feel unsafe reaching out.

 

[aftershocks]

It's great to hear things from Gracie's perspective. And I'm glad for her that she reached a point of speaking out at a former Champs camp against careless mischaracterizations and misperceptions of how she 'looked as if she didn't care'. It's wonderful that other skaters stepped up to support her, which led to her taking time off to heal.

I missed the recent full video interview as well, so I do hope it will be re-posted by the interviewer soon. Apparently, at least for now, USFS wants to control the narrative.

 

[GullyGirl84]

And I'm glad for her that she reached a point of speaking out at a former Champs camp against careless mischaracterizations and misperceptions of how she 'looked'. It's wonderful that other skaters stepped up to support her, which led to her taking time off to heal.

To be clear, Gracie did not specify that the comments from the officials were about "how she looked" per se (though I'm sure that is part of the implication), just characterized them as comments that she perceived as insensitive. She said that, in fairness to the officials, they didn't know what she was going through and to them she just looked like an athlete who didn't come to play, wasn't in shape, etc. We do know that the gossip from last summer was that she performed her short program at Champs Camp, but didn't do her long, so maybe "The Incident" happened during her sp feedback session. If Gracie is still with Yuki, maybe she had talked to a more official outlet already about doing this sort of interview as an "exclusive" where Gracie talked about what happened, etc. (like on the Today show), and wanted to go that route and wasn't expecting the random youtube thing to get so much attention, so she wanted to have it taken down until she did the more professional interview that had been arranged.

 

[aftershocks]

To be clear, Gracie did not specify that the comments from the officials were about "how she looked" per se (though I'm sure that is part of the implication),

Thanks @GullyGirl84 -- I was quoting from the NBCOlympics.com article that was linked here as taken from the interview (since I have not been able to view the actual interview):

"[Gracie] lashed out at one or two people [at Champs camp] who made an insensitive comment about her looking like she didn’t care."

I did not mean to imply the persons made comments about how her body 'looked', just about her 'looking as if she didn't care,' as written in the article. I will rephrase in my original post for clarity. To be honest, I think fans (me included) also liberally and often unfairly discussed Gracie's facial expressions while competing, as well as her comments to the press and her reactions to winning and losing. I suppose some of that can be attributed to wanting so much for her to win because she's so talented. We couldn't see beyond her talent, her beauty, and our desires enough to recognize her struggle as a young athlete going through personal difficulties. That inability to see past the surface is similar to what Gracie revealed some of those around her said: "You're Gracie Gold. What do you have to be depressed about?"

Gracie's passage, her struggles, and her courage to come back and face things openly and honestly is a teachable moment for all of us. Life is not about the medals, and victories are not always about standing on top of the podium.

 

[Yazmeen]

I just have one question: exactly what the HELL business is it of ours to know who helped Gracie? Why does that matter? Someone (or more than one) helped her, which is wonderful. Why can't we just leave it at that?

I think sometimes our sense of entitlement about what access we should have to skaters goes a little overboard. And if that ticks you off, so be it. This was a very rough, personal time for Gracie. And she has the right to keep it personal and not share it with fans. Sorry, but this doesn't come off as "concern" to me on the part of quite a few people here, it comes off as gossipy nosiness.

 

[Jarrett]

I just have one question: exactly what the HELL business is it of ours to know who helped Gracie? Why does that matter? Someone (or more than one) helped her, which is wonderful. Why can't we just leave it at that?

I think sometimes our sense of entitlement about what access we should have to skaters goes a little overboard. And if that ticks you off, so be it. This was a very rough, personal time for Gracie. And she has the right to keep it personal and not share it with fans. Sorry, but this doesn't come off as "concern" to me on the part of quite a few people here, it comes off as gossipy nosiness.

I must have missed the government inquiry that was launched. I think the only person that sounds ticked off is you. And frankly any sense of entitlement of access to anyone but yourself is unwarranted if you think about it.

 

[VGThuy]

For the poster who contacted the interviewer, any word on when it will be republished? I'm still sorry I missed my chance to watch the whole thing.

 

[Yazmeen]

I must have missed the government inquiry that was launched. I think the only person that sounds ticked off is you.

My comment is based on the multiple comments about who it was. Yes, my response was sharp, but who the helper(s) was is really a nonissue, the important thing is that someone helped her. Yet finding out who it was seems to be an issue here. That's all.

 

[aftershocks]

If Gracie is still with Yuki, maybe she had talked to a more official outlet already about doing this sort of interview as an "exclusive" where Gracie talked about what happened, etc. (like on the Today show), and wanted to go that route and wasn't expecting the random youtube thing to get so much attention, so she wanted to have it taken down until she did the more professional interview that had been arranged.

Ok yes, logistics and line of access probably played a large role. Plus the attention the interview received shows that many people are interested in hearing from Gracie, and as has been discussed there may be parts of the interview the interviewer may wish to edit. Surely though, controlling the narrative in terms of p.r. is still a part of US figure skating's concern, particularly for their top, well known athletes.