http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics ... htm?csp=34By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY, Updated 3h 51mINMAN'S E-MAIL
American judge Joe Inman, who is not working the competition at Vancouver, last month sent an e-mail to judges, skating officials, friends and some members of the media, that was seen as critical of Russian skater Evgeni Plushenko, the defending Olympic champ:
I THINK THIS WAS FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE AT EUROPEANS---TALE TELL IN MY OPINION----MAYBE ALL JUDGES SHOULD READ THIS CIAO JOE I FIND THIS AN INTERESTING OBSERVATION OF HIS OWN SKATING AND THE JUDGES' MARKING OF HIS TRANSITIONS. WHEN HE SAYS "WE DON'T HAVE ANY TRANSITIONS" WHAT DOES THAT TRANSLATE INTO A MARK? INTERESTING INDEED!!!!!!
"In Tallinn, Brian Joubert got more points for his transitions than me, although we did exactly the same transitions on the ice. In fact, we don’t have any transitions because we focus on our jumps." Evgeny Plushenko
He think, he think...
... no, this is MAYBE Plushy's unauthorized statement from "informal" press conference in Bratislava, occasion "after-Oly" show tours!
Olympian Johnny Weir criticizes U.S. skating judgeVANCOUVER — It wouldn't be the Winter Olympics without a figure skating controversy. On Thursday U.S. skater Johnny Weir sharply criticized a veteran U.S. judge's actions and questioned whether American skaters might be judged more harshly as a result.
Earlier this month Joe Inman, a top international judge, sent an e-mail to friends, including some judges, about comments made by Russia's defending gold medalist, Evgeni Plushenko. The intent of the e-mail has since been misconstrued, says Inman, and has set off an international firestorm … that there is a North American bias against European figure skaters," according to Toronto's The Globe and Mail.
Weir joined the chorus of criticism after his first practice, saying, "I am very offended that an American judge started this whole thing. I think it's a smear on my face and my reputation as an American figure skater and I hope he's banned from judging for the rest of his life. Coming into the Olympic Games, America already has an iffy public image and for him to basically attack every other skater in the world …
Even though he did that trying to support American skaters, it's my reputation. Am I going to be judged differently because of what some stupid American judge did? Because I'm an American, am I going to be judged more harshly than somebody else? It wasn't the time or the place. Politics in figure skating isn't an abnormal thing but you don't do it and smear your team a week before the Olympic Games."
Inman, who is not a judge at the Vancouver Olympics, said in a phone interview Thursday that the intent of the e-mail has been "twisted."
"I love this sport and I'm in it to make it better and to be fair to the athletes and it's being twisted in so many directions," Inman said. "It was a private, Plain Jane e-mail to friends. They've asked me to send things that they don't necessarily get. I don't know who on that list is judging the Olympics, I don't even care."
When asked about Weir's comments, Inman said, "Whatever reason he wanted to say that, that's fine. He's entitled to free speech."
U.S. Figure Skating doesn't share Weir's concern about possible backlash toward Americans from Olympic judges, said spokesperson Scottie Bibb.
Plushenko and France's Brian Joubert, both excellent jumpers, have long been criticized for lacking transitional moves between their elements. Last month Plushenko said, "If the judges want someone to place high, they can arrange it. Like (at the European championships) in Tallinn, (France's) Brian Joubert got more points for his transitions than me, although we did exactly the same transitions on the ice. In fact, we don't have any transitions because we focus on our jumps."
(... they continues?!
)Inman forwarded that quote, writing: "I find this an interesting observation of his own skating and the judges' marking of his transitions."
Inman's seemingly innocuous comment then escalated into a controversy. "It just proves that the North American lobby is on its way," Didier Gailhaguet, the president of the French skating federation, told French sports magazine, L'Equipe.
Given the depth of the men's competition, which begins Tuesday, the event was already considered a must-see of these Games. Now, it might be even more explosive for different reasons.
Does Weir's sentiment have merit? Will Plushenko be more closely scrutinized?
"The program component (artistic) scores are where you can 'cheat' regardless of whether you do transitions or not," Weir said. "If you're Evgeni Plushenko then you're going to get high scores. You're reigning Olympic champion, you deserve those high scores. A lot of people are often over-marked. If you don't jump that well, they have to keep the big names at the top somewhere. If Plushenko missed his quad and if everything is based on reality, you're getting Plushenko in 10th place? I don't think so. That's not going to happen."Pointed criticism about Plushenko's artistry was also voiced in a series of judges' educational videos which critiqued Plushenko's 2006 Olympic performance. The Russian skating federation demanded that the International Skating Union remove Plushenko from the videos, three people with knowledge of the videos told USA TODAY. Plushenko had retired from the sport when the experts selected examples of skaters' work to show on the DVDs.
(..... journalists!
.... if anyone of them read the official statement of ISU ?!
)The issue isn't likely to subside. Mike Slipchuk, Canada's director of high performance, said he hopes the issue doesn't distract from the competition. "These athletes have worked so hard to get here," Slipchuk said. "When comments like that come out it pits the athletes against each other. They're just out there to do their job. Hopefully we can move on from this."
(... really? ... now you would to "cover up" everything?
)