Regarding what TSL has related (I listened to it) -- I really don't know enough about the Sappenfield camp atmosphere nor about the ins-and-outs of the personalities involved. I don't doubt that Sarah was dumped in the way stated. However, the motivations for doing so could be more complicated than what Dave is alluding to. Personally, I do not think Sarah and T.J. were a great match personality-wise. They were a good team in other respects, but if they weren't really on the same wavelength and there was a power imbalance in the relationship, that was more than likely going to hold them back from developing in a way that would be successful. They were still young, so I saw a lot of potential for growth, but honestly they did not have the chemistry that Chan/Howe, Calalang/Johnson, and even Lu/Mitrofanov have in varying degrees (just to mention a few younger teams). Digerness/Neudecker seem to get along very well too, which is important in a developing partnership.
A few times in the kiss 'n cry, I got the feeling that Sarah was not all that happy in the partnership, and she sometimes seemed over-anxious and uncertain about T. J.'s reactions to mistakes after a performance. Again, this is mostly in hindsight, and viewed by me from afar. It is certainly distressing if Sarah was not informed in a transparent way about T.J.'s and Sappenfield's desire to make a switch. Wouldn't she have realized to some extent that something might be afoot?
To be honest, while Dave Lease has his supporters, important connections, and a very viable platform, I don't particularly trust him, nor everything he says. Possibly he knows whereof he speaks in broad strokes, but frankly, I find him to be just as suspect in the backstabbing department as the people he accuses in the skating community. Dave is just as gnarly a character, so maybe that's why he tends to fit right into, cater to, and relish in the behind-the-scenes drama aspect of this sport.
Specifically, I have questions about Dave hinting that T.J. is another Coughlin. The way Dave was winking, smirking and alluding without saying anything directly or clearly is unprofessional. I can believe that T.J. is spoiled and may have problematic behavior, but the reference to music that T.J. released and the winking about something suspicious going on, and claiming that Kori Ade threw T.J. out of her rink -- I mean those are the allusions I understood Dave to be putting out there. It's problematic when Dave sounds like he's talking to a friend in his living room, but he's on a public podcast gossiping in a snippy way. I especially didn't appreciate his reference to Serafini, despite him prefacing it with saying she's sweet. He then basically labeled how she talks as put-on. To me she's young and impressionable, and trying to fit into a senior environment that's new to her, so why gossip about her in that way. I know people might say Dave doesn't intend harm, but I think there's a better way that he could be approaching these type of fs news talkfests, simply by not smirking and winking and throwing out allusions and in-the-know references that most people new to figure skating or to the podcast would be clueless in deciphering.
Anyway, I thought T.J. was dating Tarah Kayne, unless that's changed (which makes some of Dave's allusions rather confusing). And as far as the references to Deanna, I'm kind of flabbergasted, because I don't see that working at all. IMO, Deanna has found a very well physically matched partner in Maxime Deschamps. I don't know what's going on with that apparent partnership. If US fed is giving Deanna trouble, I wonder how long they can put up roadblocks. I doubt Deanna would allow herself to be forced into partnering with someone that isn't a good match for her, just to remain in the U.S. only because the fed won't release her. Deanna strikes me as someone who is interested in having a shot at winning. And right now, I think she may possibly have a better chance of accomplishing that in Canada with Deschamps.
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