USA Today: NBC commentators Tara Lipinski, Johnny Weir participate in vulgar video spoof of U.S. Olympian

[overedge]

Oh dear God, that was the worst piece of humblebrag I've ever read.

I don't see much humblebragging there. She was lucky enough to work with several of the previous award winners, and she's paying tribute to their mentorship.

 

[overedge]

A healthy ego is one thing; but Miss "I won the Olympic gold medal, no-one can take that away from me" (rinse and repeat) and Mr. "Being shocking/fabulous was more important than my skating" passed "healthy" a long time ago.

Also "look at my outstanding cutting-edge sense of fashion".

 

[DreamSkates]

I just sent a message regarding this, via my account in NBC Sports Gold pass account.
I suggest others send a message to NBC. They do listen to viewers. If we don't view, they don't make money.
https://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/contact-us/ They want to hear from viewers.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Anette Potzsch might disagree with you, given that there was so much fuss about her beating Linda Fratianne. But I don't think Anette would generally be characterized as irritable and cranky.

Frau Mueller, on the other hand...

 

[aftershocks]

I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that USA Today wants Brennan to consistently provide sports articles if she expects to get paid, so she throws together these little scandalous articles to keep the boss happy. (However, that still doesn’t make it right). Journalism shouldn’t be a business, but the sad truth is that it is.

There's plenty to report on in any number of sports in a responsible, fair, enterprising, and when appropriate, an entertaining fashion, without resorting to over-hype, sensationalism, petty innuendo and exaggeration.

A healthy ego is one thing; but Miss "I won the Olympic gold medal, no-one can take that away from me" (rinse and repeat) and Mr. "Being shocking/fabulous was more important than my skating" passed "healthy" a long time ago.

Your interpretation of whatever since you haven't provided links for context. You can feel however you feel about Tara & Johnny, and I will continue to feel how I happen to feel. I don't think they're perfect, but I also do not disparage them for having healthy egos as former competitive* skaters and now as commentators in the public eye. What they do is not easy and it never has been, not when they were competing and not when they were trying to make it after their competitive* careers were over, and certainly not now in the commentating booth. Maybe some of us think we could do a better job. I seriously doubt it.


ETA:
* Wording adjusted because I'm sure Johnny would correct me by pointing out that he still skates! He often corrects Tara and Terry about that fact in the booth.

 

[aftershocks]

All the perfect people... Sounds like a song lyric.

... Johnny’s flamboyance outshone his skating, but he doesn’t seem to be the jealous type, just overall bitchy

Because that's how you view him. I heard an interesting comment today on social media from an early 40s-something guy who happens to be gay, and he's also a successful university professor. Some might see this as a controversial statement, I don't know. But he should know and it's his view that many of the gains gay people and the LGBTQ community have achieved were hard-won by the fighting on the front lines chiefly by gay males who were considered 'flamboyant,' and/or overly effeminate. And them fighting and taking a lot of the heat early on in many battles is what benefited others in the community who sometimes stayed in the background, on the sidelines, or in the closet. Just as the hard-fought gains by the African-American community and allies during the Civil Rights movement, benefited the downtrodden and people being discriminated against in every community.

Also, many people in the skating community who know something about figure skating would disagree with your putdown assessment. There are plenty of commentators (some who may not even have liked Johnny's personality) who largely praised his exceptional skating talent, especially at his peak. He moved so smoothly and effortlessly. The ride out on his jumps and his upright posture were extraordinary. He had one of the best triple-axels in the business, and he inspired many skaters of his generation, as well as those who came after. He often received compliments as a well-rounded skater. Sometimes those who disliked his personality or who were homophobic would always find reasons to criticize him, of course. Was he perfect, no. Did he fully live up to his talent, no. But did his so-called 'flamboyance outshine his skating'? NO. Just ask Yuzuru Hanyu, Jeffrey Buttle, Stephane Lambiel, Brian Joubert, Plushenko, et al. Even Evan Lysacek admired Johnny's skating, and admitted as much in interviews.

 

[aftershocks]

Those criticizing Christine Brennan might want to read this. A few months back she won the highest honor in sports journalism from her peers.

redsmithaward.com

This domain may be for sale!

redsmithaward.com

Hey good for Christine Brennan! Ballyhoo. It's always nice to be appreciated by one's peers, eh. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that Brennan is not a well-trained and experienced journalist. My beef is with some of her approaches to her reporting, especially in figure skating. I obviously don't know Brennan intimately though I did meet her briefly at an event many years ago when she was riding high on her 'Inside Edge' fame. She seems to be a decent person and a reporter who loves her craft. I just think her slant appears to be more toward making a name for herself by going for some 'gotcha' catch, or overblowing issues in the sport of figure skating that require a more thoughtful, informed and thorough investigative approach. An excellent book on figure skating that deserves wider acclaim is Joy Goodwin's, The Second Mark.

Yes, Brennan has done some good reporting in a number of instances, and she's advocated for women in sports, which is commendable. When her book came out about her father, I enjoyed hearing her talk about it in interviews, though I never got a chance to read it. Still, I've often rolled my eyes and shaken my head over the years when reading some of Brennan's figure skating commentary. As far as Brennan 'breaking' the 2002 Olympics pairs scandal, maybe she wrote about it in 'quick-copy' fashion and got it to print first. But I don't see that as 'breaking' anything. It would have been more of a scoop had she known in advance that the fix was in.

Anyway, we all saw what happened on the ice in real time in Salt Lake City, and if you know anything about figure skating judging, of course the results were suspect and controversial. At least the results were suspicious to some people, depending upon whom you were rooting for. Had Brennan written a series of exposes in the 1990s about TPTB in the sport not paying attention to those who were advocating for changes to the scoring system, or had she seriously investigated questionable judging and written about the topic of skating politics and judging in some kind of revealing historical context, that would be more groundbreaking.

In my view, Brennan hasn't taken the time, to really dig deeper for a better understanding of the sport. A lot of fs reporters don't take the time and effort to do so. The sport often lends itself to a superficial, trivia-based, over-hyped approach because the sport's complexities are so little understood. And the people running figure skating haven't yet found the best way to promote it (though they are trying), or to solve pressing problems (they aren't trying too hard).

 

[olympic]

All the perfect people... Sounds like a song lyric.



Because that's how you view him. I heard an interesting comment today on social media from an early 40s-something guy who happens to be gay, and he's also a successful university professor. Some might see this as a controversial statement, I don't know. But he should know and it's his view that many of the gains gay people and the LGBTQ community have achieved were hard-won by the fighting on the front lines chiefly by gay males who were considered 'flamboyant,' and/or overly effeminate. And them fighting and taking a lot of the heat early on in many battles is what benefited others in the community who sometimes stayed in the background, on the sidelines, or in the closet. Just as the hard-fought gains by the African-American community and allies during the Civil Rights movement, benefited the downtrodden and people being discriminated against in every community.

Also, many people in the skating community who know something about figure skating would disagree with your putdown assessment. There are plenty of commentators (some who may not even have liked Johnny's personality) who largely praised his exceptional skating talent, especially at his peak. He moved so smoothly and effortlessly. The ride out on his jumps and his upright posture were extraordinary. He had one of the best triple-axels in the business, and he inspired many skaters of his generation, as well as those who came after. He often received compliments as a well-rounded skater. Sometimes those who disliked his personality or who were homophobic would always find reasons to criticize him, of course. Was he perfect, no. Did he fully live up to his talent, no. But did his so-called 'flamboyance outshine his skating'? NO. Just ask Yuzuru Hanyu, Jeffrey Buttle, Stephane Lambiel, Brian Joubert, Plushenko, et al. Even Evan Lysacek admired Johnny's skating, and admitted as much in interviews.

Now, you are going to listen to a 50 yr old Gay Man.

I understand everything laid out in your very long post above, and the fact you are posting at me shows you know very little about me. I am the 1st person who tells my friends, colleagues and peers that the trans community and POC were on the front lines at Stonewall in 1969, and deserve more respect than what they are getting. I've done everything from serving in the U.S. Army alongside trans members of the community, working my way thru college at an AIDS office in the 90s that included trans patients, and worked in gay clubs with DQs. So, I have seen their stories and never ever viewed 'flamboyant' or 'effeminate' as a pejorative.

When it comes to Johnny Weir, you assume I meant 'flamboyant' negatively. God bless him for being flamboyant, and I will call him that because it is a properly defining term, but he himself admitted that his personality got in the way of his skating on the way to Vancouver in 2010. I believe Zmevskaya told him to stop with the distractions (showcasing his personality). His talent was immense and I think he could have gone farther.

 

[B.Cooper]

Brennan reported the video. Enough said.

What is unsettling about all of this is that Lipinski and Weir made the video. Not sure it was a wise choice...takes skating down yet another notch from it's former shiny pedestal, which so many people still choose to see the sport, ie in the era of Kwan, etc. Skating's viewership demographic is aging out, and to do a parody video with rough language about one of the top US skaters, doesn't help skating's image, marketability , etc.

It was disrespectful of Bradie and quite frankly, disrespectful of the sport....a sport that served both Lipinski and Weir well during their competitive years.

 

[aftershocks]

Now, you are going to listen to a 50 yr old Gay Man.

I understand everything laid out in your very long post above, and the fact you are posting at me shows you know very little about me. I am the 1st person who tells my friends, colleagues and peers that the trans community and POC were on the front lines at Stonewall in 1969, and deserve more respect than what they are getting. I've done everything from serving in the U.S. Army alongside trans members of the community, working my way thru college at an AIDS office in the 90s that included trans patients, and worked in gay clubs with DQs. So, I have seen their stories and never ever viewed 'flamboyant' or 'effeminate' as a pejorative.

When it comes to Johnny Weir, you assume I meant 'flamboyant' negatively. God bless him for being flamboyant, and I will call him that because it is a properly defining term, but he himself admitted that his personality got in the way of his skating on the way to Vancouver in 2010. I believe Zmevskaya told him to stop with the distractions (showcasing his personality). His talent was immense and I think he could have gone farther.

Sure Johnny shoulda coulda gone further with his rare talent. The problem for Johnny in his skating career existed both within and without. And that's a fact.

For example, some people (I'm not talking about you) like to bash Johnny for not so-called 'coming out' sooner, when in fact he never truly 'hid' who he was. He just knew it was verboten to speak out openly when he was coming up. But it was always important to him to be as true to himself as he possibly could within the stuffy, old-fashioned, uptight skating world. Johnny being on the skating scene inspired and seemed to free so many of his peers to work harder at trying to express themselves without fear and inhibition. It was a very tough balancing act at that time. Johnny got clobbered then and he's still bashed and dismissed for daring to be 'flamboyant' in expressing himself.

That whole episode with U.S. fed authorities telling him to ditch his costume at a junior event because it made him look "too Russian," is absolutely unforgiveable. And I do not care @misskarne that Johnny responded irresponsibly by claiming he was sick. At least he owned up to immaturely responding to adult abuse in a way that was inappropriate and unhelpful to his career. But the adult authorities didn't care about his career either, unless he conformed, which would have been further tamping down and denying a huge part of himself.

I don't believe in the end that it was truly Johnny's 'personality' that got in the way. It was more his wit and his outspoken rebelliousness, not his on-ice nor his off-ice 'personality'. It was also Johnny's internal struggle with not seemingly being flat-out hungry to fully apply himself and his inability to fully believe in how talented he was. Even in his memoir, he seemed to mock his coach, Priscilla Hill (who had been so important to him early in his career), because she tried everything to get him to believe that he was the best and that he could be on top if he tried harder. He always seemed to feel that since he got a late start at age 12, that he was somehow handicapped. He's mentioned that before.

Johnny is truly a fun person to be around and at bottom a vulnerable sweetheart, which he tries to protectively hide with a bit of bitchiness. Mostly today though, he's got nothing to hide anymore. Still, in his mature, professional-minded adulthood, he's more cautious than he was in his more innocent youth. But his personality hasn't significantly changed. These are my opinions of course, from afar.

 

[aftershocks]

You make some excellent points @B.Cooper. I still haven't seen the video, as I don't know where to find it. I'm not sure a link was provided. I disagree that Brennan reporting on it was with good intentions, much less for the upstanding respect of the sport you rightly mention Tara and Johnny should have.

It's pretty suspect that Brennan waited till Johnny's birthday to offer up her report.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Now, you are going to listen to a 50 yr old Gay Man.

I understand everything laid out in your very long post above, and the fact you are posting at me shows you know very little about me. I am the 1st person who tells my friends, colleagues and peers that the trans community and POC were on the front lines at Stonewall in 1969, and deserve more respect than what they are getting. I've done everything from serving in the U.S. Army alongside trans members of the community, working my way thru college at an AIDS office in the 90s that included trans patients, and worked in gay clubs with DQs. So, I have seen their stories and never ever viewed 'flamboyant' or 'effeminate' as a pejorative.

When it comes to Johnny Weir, you assume I meant 'flamboyant' negatively. God bless him for being flamboyant, and I will call him that because it is a properly defining term, but he himself admitted that his personality got in the way of his skating on the way to Vancouver in 2010. I believe Zmevskaya told him to stop with the distractions (showcasing his personality). His talent was immense and I think he could have gone farther.

My favourite program from Weir is Doctor Zhivago from the 2004 National Championships.

Johnny Weir 2004 Nationals LP

This is Johnny's long program at the 2004 national. Johnny skated a perfect program and recieved a perfect 6.0 and got his first national title.

www.youtube.com

Love the attack and the power.

As his career progressed, I never really got the costume choices because I found the more is more is more approach really distracted from his beautiful precision and line.

 

[Mad for Skating]

There's plenty to report on in any number of sports in a responsible, fair, enterprising, and when appropriate, an entertaining fashion, without resorting to over-hype, sensationalism, petty innuendo and exaggeration.

I agree - but then she wouldn’t be Christine Brennan, would she?

 

[skatingguy]

There's plenty to report on in any number of sports in a responsible, fair, enterprising, and when appropriate, an entertaining fashion, without resorting to over-hype, sensationalism, petty innuendo and exaggeration.

I agree - but then she wouldn’t be Christine Brennan, would she?

Important to note, and I know this gets mentioned a lot, but Brennan wrote the article, which is pretty bland, and a copy editor writes the headline, which is where the sensationalism comes in. Also, were talking about the USA Today which is a pretty tabloid-style newspaper.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I agree - but then she wouldn’t be Christine Brennan, would she?

Fortunately, we also have the likes of Bev Smith, E.M Swift, and the late Sandra Stephenson who were masters of the craft.

 

[Mad for Skating]

I know this is a bit off topic, but as a young LGBTQ+ woman, I want to add my two cents to the conversation.

The LGBTQ+ rights movement began mostly with Black trans women at the Stonewall riots. The Pride parades we enjoy today are a result of their bravery. They led the fight on the political side through protests and rallies.

I think gay men who don’t conform to traditional gender norms have had a huge impact on LGBTQ+ representation in pop culture - which is arguably an equally important part of the fight for inclusion and acceptance. For example, the TV show Glee featured a feminine, openly gay guy named Kurt. Showing a character like him in a positive light helped millions of people see that gay people were cool and should be treated with respect. Feminine gay men helped normalize the LGBTQ+ community to the general public.

So I think Black trans women and white feminine gay men are both responsible for the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made (although we still have a long way to go). However, I can’t help thinking that the reason why white feminine gay men were featured on TV shows instead of Black trans women stems from racism and misogyny. Although feminine white gay men definitely faced (and continue to face) a lot of bullying and discrimination, people felt somewhat less threatened by a white guy wearing eyeshadow than a Black woman. In my opinion, that’s why the feminine gay man became such an iconic image for the LGBTQ+ community.

Also, I don’t want to minimize the harassment feminine gay men experience, because it’s downright awful. I remember watching The Breakfast Club with my mom in 8th grade and being so shocked by how many times the characters used the F-slur (as an insult towards straight male characters who were seen as “wimps”). Bullying feminine men was still very normalized by pop culture in the 1980s, and some of those toxic beliefs still remain today.

Finally, I think each branch of the LGBTQ+ community faces different forms of discrimination and homophobia. Feminine gay men get dismissed as wimps. Masculine lesbians are often considered undesirable, while feminine lesbians get fetishized because straight men think it’s hot to see two beautiful girls making out. Bisexuals get stereotyped as promiscuous or left out of conversations about LGBTQ+ rights because they’re considered only “half gay”. Trans women - especially trans women of color - are portrayed as threatening and unattractive, and trans men often get thrown in the “wimps” category. Asexuals are mocked for being “prudes” and pressured to get into intimate situations they aren’t comfortable with. We all face our own struggles, and the only way we can overcome it is if we stand together and support each other.

(Please correct me if I’m wrong about any of this).

 

[Aerobicidal]

Here's a new article about the legal status of this vulgar and scandalous episode. It, appropriately, comes from a source of ill repute and the salacious headline has me clutching my pearl necklace.

Hockey analyst Jeremy Roenick sues NBC over ‘threesome’ firing

The 50-year-old former NHL forward was fired from the network in February following comments he made on a Dec. 18 episode of Barstool Sports’ podcast “Spittin’ Chiclets.”

nypost.com

 

[VGThuy]

I don’t remember Weir and Tara making comments about sleeping with their co-workers and sexualizing them.

 

[vu2019]

Here's a new article about the legal status of this vulgar and scandalous episode. It, appropriately, comes from a source of ill repute and the salacious headline has me clutching my pearl necklace.

Hockey analyst Jeremy Roenick sues NBC over ‘threesome’ firing

The 50-year-old former NHL forward was fired from the network in February following comments he made on a Dec. 18 episode of Barstool Sports’ podcast “Spittin’ Chiclets.”

nypost.com

Very impressive that Bradie Tennell apparently (per the article) won an Olympic bronze medal in 1998, considering she was a couple weeks old during those winter Olympics. Talk about a child prodigy!

 

[Aerobicidal]

Very impressive that Bradie Tennell apparently (per the article) won an Olympic bronze medal in 1998, considered she was a couple weeks old during those winter Olympics. Talk about a child prodigy!

To be fair, I think Bradie in 1998 looked about the same age as Trusova did in 2019.

 

[meggonzo]

The suit also claims that during the 2018 Olympics “after hearing colorful commentary regarding the body parts of ice skaters from analyst/commentator Johnny Weir” Roenick asked his boss Sam Flood about the remarks and Flood responded that Weir, “is gay and can say whatever,” the court papers allege.

I am curious what these exact comments are. Not saying it didn't happen, but I'd like to know when Roenick had time to listen to Weir's commentary, when he was also there working and doing commentary for hockey.

 

[Coco]

I'm sure his lawyers were all over it.

 

[kwanatic]

Seems to be a crass and crude (and not funny) joke referring to a woman's hoo-hah but I've heard way worse unfortunately. Kinda feels like Brennan tried to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Still, I'm not really feeling Tara and Johnny right now for commentary so if they got booted over this I'd lose no sleep. On occasion they add insight but for the most part I'm kinda over both of them--they made it through basically 2 Olympic cycles I say it's time to change it up.

I'd love to see Ashley and Adam commentate. Both have a real insight into skating nowadays as they grew up and competed under IJS--Tara's last competition was nearly 20 years ago and Johnny's was almost a decade ago...they're far removed from what skating really demands today. Ashley and Adam have a great rapport with each other and I think they'd bring something fresh and new to the commentary.

I'm just saying...

 

[alj5]

100% support an Adam-Ashley commentary team.

With Brooke Castile and Charlie White covering their respective disciplines.

Plus Tanith & Terry as the hosts.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Yes, I would prefer Ashley and Adam together too. I haven't been impressed with Tara and Johnny for a while now.

 

[olympic]

Ashley's run-on style of speaking is a little much for me with regard to commentating

 

[PinkRose]

I heard about this today and to me both comments are inappropriate by both parties.

 

[aftershocks]

I'd love to see Ashley and Adam commentate.

Ashley might be interested, but Adam has previously indicated he's not considering a career in the commentating booth. He's got a lot of other fish to fry and marshmallows to roast, added to the bit of coaching and choreographing he's been doing. Clearly, Adam's profile and his fame transcend figure skating.

I think NBC is fine with the commentating trio and back-up they have already. Plus, Tara and Johnny routinely do color commentating and feature reporting for other NBC sports events, e.g., the Summer Olympics, football, dog shows, horse racing, etc. Not every skater turned commentator typically possess such partnership chemistry and versatility.


ETA:

100% support an Adam-Ashley commentary team.

A nice thought on paper. But I do not see this happening, unless it's a one-off of some kind. Ashley is good, but she's still getting the hang of broadcast commentating. I know she's done some good work here and there already. And true, if we thought Tara is too talkative, Ashley is as well.

See my previous thoughts on Adam. It's not his chief interest, at least not when he was asked about it post the 2018 Olympics. He was not even interested in doing a stint in the booth in 2018 when they asked him after his events were completed. I don't think Adam and Ashley are as close friends as they once were. At least, that's my impression.

Tanith and Charlie teaming up in some capacity, I could see. They've already done that for U.S. Nationals events on the NBC Gold platform. They did an excellent job calling the U.S. pairs event at 2020 U.S. Nationals. Ben Agosto, Tanith and Charlie have worked with one or the other too on ice dance commentating for some events.

I enjoy Brooke Castile's pairs perspective very much. So far, Castile has chiefly worked on U.S. Nationals' Ice Desk previews and wrap-ups.

 

[Sylvia]

Speaking of Ashley, she announced via Instagram just today that she is looking forward to studying psychology at Northeastern University this fall: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-tonights-lecture.101175/page-26#post-5836864

 

[AxelAnnie]

I heard about this today and to me both comments are inappropriate by both parties.

I totally agree. And they should have known better.