Russian Figure Skater tests positive for drugs - delays ceremony for team medals

[coppertop1]

Katarina said Valieva was the victim of the adults around her, ie her coaches and her federation. And she was.

 

[cholla]

@soogar - just to refresh the timeline of events, I've gone back to the 2022 Winter Olympics Kiss & Cry sub-forum here to review the exact timeline of information and discussion here from the end of the TE to the rejection of the appeal that allowed Valieva to compete in the Women's event (and a little extra from the last week of the Games).

(whole post)

Karen-W you rock You are KarenFSUpedia Now I know who to ask when I need documentation to write an article the top notch researcher and archivist!

 

[Sylvia]

LOL - is that why NBC sent Johnny to Moscow the previous fall to film the never-aired Team Tutberidze piece? NBC was all-in on Valieva before the doping violation. They had the US audience primed to fall in love with her

Johnny's posts & pics from Moscow in November 2021 are still on his Instagram - here he is with Valieva: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWWY8GdsKi0/
With Shcherbakova: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWOdT99MSsf/
Sitting behind the boards with Tutberidze, Dudakov & Gleikhengauz: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWU-KdXsTDh/
Outside the Khrustalny rink: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWREUlQsU9O/

 

[soogar]

Everyone did. The general consensus was that she's the victim but she shouldn't be allowed to skate because a failure doping test is still a failed doping test and it's not fair that anyone (including her) to her to skate.

Honestly, the gaslighting and manipulation by Russia and its fans is even worse than the scandal. They're trying to make us believe it never happened. It's disgusting.

Sandra Bezic reacts on TSL
Scott Hamilton reacts to the decision

Are you serious? Both Sandra and Scott were pivotal in the public opinion against B&S in SLC, for a pairs competition that was incredibly close technically. Yet neither of them had a problem with Oksana Baiul winning over Nancy with significantly less technical content. Just throwing a bone out and saying she's a victim and then going on to say negative things doesn't really alleviate the situation.
Same with Tara and Johnny, for their one comment that she's a victim, both of them said how they were aware at 15 what they were taking and that every athlete knows how important drug tests are.

Same as gaslighting around here. Sensationalistic news coverage can be viewed differently, depending on how people view the circumstances. Just like Polina was going on and on on her podcast about the advantage the Valieva had with the drugs in interviews with both Linda Leaver and Christy Ness, yet none of these coaches were willing to echo her sentiments.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Oh, heck, I wouldn't be able to accomplish that either! This was a lot easier. I could just sit on my rear here on my sofa with the laptop and do the research.

I got mine done

tee-hee

 

[angi]

Are you serious? Both Sandra and Scott were pivotal in the public opinion against B&S in SLC, for a pairs competition that was incredibly close technically. Yet neither of them had a problem with Oksana Baiul winning over Nancy with significantly less technical content. Just throwing a bone out and saying she's a victim and then going on to say negative things doesn't really alleviate the situation.
Same with Tara and Johnny, for their one comment that she's a victim, both of them said how they were aware at 15 what they were taking and that every athlete knows how important drug tests are.

More often than not I find myself wishing there was a way to react to a message with a facepalm emoji...
There's nothing remotely untrue about this statement from Tara and Johnny. We can view Valieva as a victim of her coaching team and the all around Russian institutionalized doping system, yet still believe she should bare the consequences given how athletes are taught not to take anything they are unfamiliar with and that a positive doping test is basically the end of the road for any other athlete, as it should be.
And if at the time I had no criticism for Valieva, following the months since the Olympics and how she has been a very willing participant in the circus her federation and coaches have thrown I think at this point after everything that happened she can't be excused for ignorance, we are way past that point.

 

[Wyliefan]

Same with Tara and Johnny, for their one comment that she's a victim, both of them said how they were aware at 15 what they were taking and that every athlete knows how important drug tests are.

What would you have liked them to say?

 

[MacMadame]

More often than not I find myself wishing there was a way to react to a message with a facepalm emoji...

And also the emjoi.

You can quote the message and add them but sometimes you just want to register your reaction and not start a discussion.

On a completely unrelated note, I am constantly miffed that there is no emoji in most of the Slack workspaces I am in. I have to use the "head banging on the desk" one instead. There is no either. I was robbed.

 

[Karen-W]

And also the emjoi.

You can quote the message and add them but sometimes you just want to register your reaction and not start a discussion.

On a completely unrelated note, I am constantly miffed that there is no emoji in most of the Slack workspaces I am in. I have to use the "head banging on the desk" one instead. There is no either. I was robbed.

Do you know how many times I've wanted to use FSU emojis on other social media? Especially the !

 

[Tesla]

Scroll down to the newer smilies.

 

[MacMadame]

Scroll down to the newer smilies.

They don't have that Slack. At least not the sets I've seen.

 

[Primorskaya]

Are you serious? Both Sandra and Scott were pivotal in the public opinion against B&S in SLC, for a pairs competition that was incredibly close technically. Yet neither of them had a problem with Oksana Baiul winning over Nancy with significantly less technical content. Just throwing a bone out and saying she's a victim and then going on to say negative things doesn't really alleviate the situation.
Same with Tara and Johnny, for their one comment that she's a victim, both of them said how they were aware at 15 what they were taking and that every athlete knows how important drug tests are.

Same as gaslighting around here. Sensationalistic news coverage can be viewed differently, depending on how people view the circumstances. Just like Polina was going on and on on her podcast about the advantage the Valieva had with the drugs in interviews with both Linda Leaver and Christy Ness, yet none of these coaches were willing to echo her sentiments.

A fine, fine example of whataboutism -and I say this as someone who totally agrees with both B&S and Baiul winning gold.

Ah but whatever, we're all making the same mistake in replying to you by using facts and rational arguments when events of the past few years around the globe should have taught us that humans are emotional creatures who use their brains to coat their emotional reactions in a semblance of rationality

 

[AYS]

omg @Karen-W that compilation is epic. x 1000

 

[coppertop1]

What would you have liked them to say?

That Kamila was innocent and was framed by the "evil west"

 

[Tesla]

They don't have that Slack. At least not the sets I've seen.

Sorry! I was talking about FSU.

 

[coppertop1]

Oh, and Rippon's comment about "disgrace" was above her being ten points ahead of Wakaba Higuchi despite a big step out on her 3A when Higuchi skated clean including a triple Axel

 

[Sylvia]

Oh, and Rippon's comment about "disgrace" was above her being ten points ahead of Wakaba Higuchi despite a big step out on her 3A when Higuchi skated clean including a triple Axel

Link (in reply to rockerskating's tweet on Feb. 15): https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493595423625420807

Thanks @coppertop1 - it was bugging me that I couldn't recall the context.

 

[VGThuy]

Oh, and Rippon's comment about "disgrace" was above her being ten points ahead of Wakaba Higuchi despite a big step out on her 3A when Higuchi skated clean including a triple Axel

That is a disgrace. I wish I wasn't reminded of that.

 

[coppertop1]

That is a disgrace. I wish I wasn't reminded of that.

Sorry. I agree, it was a disgrace. Wakaba should have been at least second.

 

[On My Own]

Honestly, I think the most disgraceful thing is how much attention we've paid to @soogar by now

 

[VGThuy]

"Disgrace" will be my new buzzword for a while.

 

[tony]

I much prefer Higuchi, but technically, how was it not fair?

The toe loop was called <, which I don't completely disagree with, and moreover, she got an '!' for her flip, that has never once taken off on the correct edge throughout her career, and why I've asked endlessly why she doesn't just do the loop. The call should be 'e' every time, and it would knock her base value down even more-- unless people want to look the other way sometimes. She also got a 'q' call on the flip. It was not a clean skate.

Valieva was extremely well-rounded, had much better spins, and the program was choreographically stunning. ETA- an argument can totally be made that the resetting between jumps in the 3+3 should've resulted in lower GOE and I don't disagree, but Higuchi getting an 'e' call would've just made it the same spread.

 

[VGThuy]

Valieva’s skating does stun me.

 

[Vagabond]

Valieva's chutzpah stuns me.

 

[SpiffySpiders]

Are you serious? Both Sandra and Scott were pivotal in the public opinion against B&S in SLC, for a pairs competition that was incredibly close technically. Yet neither of them had a problem with Oksana Baiul winning over Nancy with significantly less technical content. Just throwing a bone out and saying she's a victim and then going on to say negative things doesn't really alleviate the situation.
Same with Tara and Johnny, for their one comment that she's a victim, both of them said how they were aware at 15 what they were taking and that every athlete knows how important drug tests are.

Same as gaslighting around here. Sensationalistic news coverage can be viewed differently, depending on how people view the circumstances. Just like Polina was going on and on on her podcast about the advantage the Valieva had with the drugs in interviews with both Linda Leaver and Christy Ness, yet none of these coaches were willing to echo her sentiments.

And they would be correct on both counts. A fifteen-year-old elite athlete does not decide to self-medicate for performance, it's a team and/or legal guardian decision that they either agree to or are unaware of. A fifteen-year-old American elite athlete - which Tara and Johnny were - would absolutely know the importance of verifying any medications and following WADA guidelines. Would a Russian girl of that age know? I've no idea, but I would hope so. Otherwise, there is a problem that needs addressing.

Valieva is a victim of the drive to win at all costs. She's not the only minor this has happened to, just the one who had to experience it on one of the world's largest sporting stages in the era of social media. I feel her pain, but she isn't innocent and rules need to be followed to ensure as level a playing field as possible.

As for the protected person status - that needs to end at the senior elite level. it's one thing to handle sporting violations quietly in national/regional events (where the vast majority of minors compete), or even junior international competitions for non-mainstream sports (which figure skating sort of is in most places), but it will never work once the money and media scrutiny of international senior or professional sport is involved. Besides, it isn't fair to have tiered responsibility and consequences among athletes at the same level.

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Adam did have some zingers that week

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

"Disgrace" will be my new buzzword for a while.

But only if you use it in context with "How dare you" and a finger point.

 

[Karen-W]

Adam did have some zingers that week

OMG! I don't think I've ever seen that before... "She's acting like they went to Burning Man together!" Priceless!

 

[skatingguy]

They don't have that Slack. At least not the sets I've seen.

Can you copy & paste - I copy & paste the emojis here into other places.

 

[jamesy]

"She's acting like they went to Burning Man together!"

I died