Oh, please, you are totally changing your tune now that you've been thoroughly schooled by multiple posters.
The problem wouldn't be telling that they can't. It would be telling them that they must or should, especially if at least one of the skaters has little or no inclination to do so.
Yes, but is there any indication that actually happened? Also, hard to prove unless the skaters themselves complained.
I added to my post as you were writing yours.
There's a pattern of behavior, so I'd say it bears investigating. It may prove impossible to prove - and it may very well take a skater or family member coming out and telling the investigators that they were pressured or, in the case of family members, they were completely unaware that such a marriage had even occurred. I mean, even if you don't want the public to know EVERYTHING, surely you tell your own family when you've gotten married and that's it is a real, valid marriage rather than one for green card purposes only.
I don't know any of the players, but I'm curious if they are all either related or in a community with close cultural ties? There are many reasons for marriage at a young age and some of the are cultural. But, again, unless a skater says "I was forced to marry X" there is nothing inherently illegal by getting married.
I think it's a given that the only community with close cultural ties that the Russian husbands shared with their American wives before they got married was their training group.
Maybe, but I was referring to the young women and their families. Just curious if religion or other cultural factors are in play that nobody outside might be aware of. I've seen some I won't say strange as that would be culturally dismissive, but perhaps alternative, behaviors regarding marriage. Again, I have no clue, but it seems a lot of internet fans are jumping to conclusions based on pretty much nothing as far as I can tell.
As several of us have pointed out... This certainly has some of the hallmarks of human trafficking, so that would warrant an investigation by the FBI. Additionally, if these young women and men were being encouraged or conditioned, before they turned 18, to believe that marriage at such a young age was appropriate, then that may be viewed as "grooming" and that DOES fall under SafeSport's jurisdiction.
Well, you should call your local FBI office and see what they have to say. In fact, you really should do that and report back.
I think every imaging student I've had was married by 23. All of them. They all planned weddings while studying for boards which we tried very hard to tell them not to do, but they all did.
I think that there is every bit as much of a chance that the young men were coerced as that their wives were. And it is highly unusual for there to be any kind of pressure (cultural, familial, etc.) on young people to marry people from outside their own culture. Here, the culture in question appears to be skating culture, but even there, we know of many pairs and ice dance teams that waited much longer to get married. The Knierims and Chock & Bates come to mind.
Possibly, but that in an of itself means nothing. Unless, I missed something, there has been no public complaint by either partner in the three marriages being discussed which means it's all a lot of assumptions and conjectures by people with no direct information. You know what that gets you in court Councilor.
And, based on my experience, immigration is already involved if the men are attempting to get a green card, visa or ultimately citizenship.
No. There's just a young woman who was married to an ice dance partner whom she barely knew, lived in the same house with him for two years, and now is learning that he's under investigation for sexual assault and that their partnership is very likely over and she herself could be roped into an investigation for immigration fraud. But no, nobody has anything to complain about.
And, what has she said about the situation?
What??? So your objection was purely semantics? I give up. Do you I guess.
There is more to this matter than the legalities.Possibly, but that in an of itself means nothing. Unless, I missed something, there has been no public complaint by either partner in the three marriages being discussed which means it's all a lot of assumptions and conjectures by people with no direct information. You know what that gets you in court Councilor.
Also by this time she's probably been told not to say anything. His immigration status will probably be looked into given the SafeSport allegations (and possibly criminal allegations) and that could implicate her and her family. Anyone embroiled in this would do well to lawyer up and keep their mouth firmly shut. Forget all the WASA stuff - for Flores and her family, the (likely sham) marriage and the SA allegations add up to one possible huge legal nightmare.
Yup - and let's not forget, her younger sister is also a high level skater who, with her pairs partner, just qualified for the JGPF for their second season in a row. There are a LOT of people in their circle who could be facing questions and needing legal guidance to navigate through this potential mess.
Or maybe you can stop using such bold terms to really chide a whole thread. It might behoove you to use the pronoun "I" instead of "we"! Just a suggestion
In 2022 it was eight years. It does take years to work your way up in Ice Dance. Which means these kids may have been put into this position for absolutely no good reason given that they may not even make it to the top ranks let alone win an Olympic berth.
So that means they deliberately looked for and solicited young men who were not in a position to dictate terms? I sincerely hope not!
The fact that you think it's okay to give 1.5 out of 5 stars to someones opinion is the def of the ick
It wasn't opinion. It was stated as "what we know" and most of it was incorrect.
