Why was he so pissed in that interview right after winning the gold? It was really weird, Bob Costas was at a loss for words.

He's been being ripped by the media for the last week for not skating the team event and now he's supposed to be nice and give them what they want.

 

He's been painted with the typical brush of the selfish athlete for deciding not to skate the Team Pursuit to chase his dream. An event he was never even entered in. His "great teammate" Chad Hedrick then ripped him for it. Why? Because it hurt Hedrick's chances of winning 5 gold medals.

 

And yet Davis is being protrayed as the selfish one and Hedrick is the hero (I'll leave the obvious reasons why out of this). The only media that has covered this the right way has, predictably, been Shani's hometown media:

 

CHICAGO -- Throughout the Olympics, the reporting and the comments have been negative and slighting, most notably Bob Costas' unwarranted criticism of Shani Davis.

 

Even though Davis decided not to skate the Team Pursuit, Costas' lack of objectivity contributed to the negativity that has been directed at Davis since before the Olympics. At no time during the Olympics had any of Davis' teammates or coaches stated that Davis had distanced himself from the team. Yet Costas injected that biased comment himself, which proves his lack of objectivity, and compassion.

 

Though Chad Hedrick was disappointed in Davis' decision, it is sad that he could not lend his support to another teammate's pursuit of Olympic dreams. Why should Davis' dreams be jeopardized in order to create buzz for another athlete's pursuit of five medals?

 

It's clear Bode Miller wants to be the bad boy of the Olympics, but why try to falsely and unfairly create that image in Shani Davis?

 

Of course it's all changing today:

Shani's showing of spirit

Gwen Knapp

Sunday, February 19, 2006

 

Turin, Italy -- So this is how the most selfish American Olympian sounds after winning a gold medal. He rattles off a teammate's accomplishments over the last year, cites one of the teammate's split times from memory and then turns poetic about the guy.

 

"He's like mercury. He just rises,'' Shani Davis said of Joey Cheek, the silver medalist, seated to his left.

 

Clearly, this was an impostor. The Shani Davis we've heard so much about doesn't blow kisses to fellow Americans. He doesn't even race with them. He races against them.

 

He allegedly bailed out of the team pursuit, a three-person race added to the Olympics this year, and cost Chad Hedrick a shot at tying Eric Heiden's record of five speedskating gold medals in a single Olympics.

 

There are two problems with those allegations. One, Davis was never formally part of the team pursuit. He says U.S. speedskating officials asked him to do the race only a week in advance, which didn't give him enough time to adjust to the idea.

 

Two, Davis always intended to block Hedrick's minuscule chance for five golds. He planned to win the 1,000-meter race, also on the Texan's agenda.

 

Davis could have skated as many as 12,800 yards extra if he had done the team event and the U.S. reached the finals. Instead, the Americans lost in the quarterfinals, and Davis, on fresh legs, won the 1,000.

 

In the days in between, he was called unpatriotic, selfish and worse. On his Web site, one poster applied a racial epithet to Davis, the first black man on the U.S. speedskating team. Davis had a lot of answers, most of them sensible, some of them charming. But two competitors offered a more potent defense.

 

"He's an Olympic champion, so he's right,'' said Erben Wennemars, the Dutchman who won the bronze medal.

 

"Shani skated fast today. That's all I'll say,'' said Hedrick, who took sixth in the 1,000, finishing 56 one-hundredths of a second behind his nemesis. In the decorum category, he trailed Davis by much, much more.

 

Asked whether he was happy for his teammates, Hedrick skipped right over the gold medalist. "I'm happy for Joey,'' he said.

 

He also said: "I came here to be part of a team,'' implicitly denigrating a teammate.

 

On the whole, this feud is like a divorce. Taking sides seems foolish. No one outside the speedskating world can really know how these two behave when the microphones and notepads vanish. But an athlete's conduct on the Olympic stage means something, and in that respect, Davis made the most remarkable comeback of the 2006 Winter Games.

 

He said he had chosen to skip the team race not simply because he wanted to protect himself for the 1,000 two days later. Because he qualified for three individual events, he said, he didn't feel right shoving aside the skaters who were chosen specifically for the pursuit. (Davis was not.) Davis went to Salt Lake City as the No. 6 short-track competitor and didn't get to race.

 

"I'll say this 100 times,'' he said. "... After 2002, when I went to the Olympics but didn't get to skate, I told myself that I would never, ever take someone else's opportunity to skate at an Olympic Games.''

 

As for Hedrick, he said: "At least he said I skated fast. That's nice.''

 

After his win, Davis took a victory lap around the oval with Wennemars, who is such an idol to Davis that he taped a picture of the Dutchman to his refrigerator. They joined hands and held arms aloft as they passed the two end zones, where the speedskating fanatics from the Netherlands, dressed in traffic-cone orange, gave them a roaring ovation.

 

For a while, it appeared that Davis' celebration would include no one from the U.S. team. He slapped a lot of hands along the oval victory lap, and he clung to his good-luck teddy bear. Just as he was finishing, he spotted Cheek in the infield and went in to congratulate him.

 

"Joey gave me one of the biggest hugs,'' he said, "almost as big as the one my mama gave me.''

 

Cheek and the other U.S. skaters are the children of this divorce, caught in the middle. They've been asked to explain the sport's ethics to a media horde that knows very little about what they do.

 

"It's an individual sport,'' Casey FitzRandolph said, and I think that's the mind-set we all have.''

 

Of course, as Wennemars said, among athletes, winning tends to make someone right. Other than Hedrick's remarks, Davis faced only a few more harsh words. They came from his Dutch hero.

 

"Shani,'' Wennemars said, "leave the bear at home.''

 

So basically, they hated him until they needed to love them and unlike most media hungry athletes, Shani basically told them to go to hell.

 

He wanted to make a point with his interview, and he did just that.

 

Good for him.

 

His other interviews were much better. NBC didn't even deserve his time.

 

I'm sure he'll get ripped more for not meeting someone else's ideal of how he should act.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

I'm not hating on you for falling for it, it's just when crap like that happens, you can't just make judgements when they're not giving you something to go on and just speculating (especially when their speculation is kind of running the guy down).

 

I still think he should have hated on that woman in the pre-match interview who was being downright disrespectful, but then again, that guy's got too much class for that.

That guy is awesome. And that dumb bitch that interviewed him should be fired.

What'd she say/do?

Twice she went over the line with him, IMO. Obviously he's not going to give much of an interview, so say congratulations and send it back to whoever.

 

"You aren't saying much, Shani"

 

"Are you angry, Shani?"

She was just trying to get him to say something that made him look like a jerk, it's the story NBC was trying to play.

Well good for him for not giving them what they wanted.

What'd she say/do?

 

 

Keep in mind this is all after he wouldn't do the interviews with NBC so they villainized him and characterized him as an Olympic villain/black Cinderalla story. So, since he wouldn't waste his time doing NBC interviews they only used the stuff from his teammate, Hedrick, who did nothing but hate on him. So, he was also portrayed as either bitter or not right in the head (like he was some kind of weirdo). So, Bob Costas kept characterizing Davis's behavior as "strange" and kind of hating up in his booth the whole time.

 

Then Costas said, "Well, there's no sign of Shauni Davis's mother, so maybe she's kept a low profile, but we've scanned the crowd and can't find her anywhere." Thus adding to the drama. OH NOES, his mom isn't there, WHAT NEXT!?

 

Here's my original post in another thread of his short interview:

 

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

*scarcasm* "Boy, you sure look happy!"

"You're the first African American to win this event, how do you feel?"

"Great."

"That's it?"

 

So, he had the stories all week being how he was either weird, a selfish dick or mentally unsound. You had his selfish teammate hating on him in press conferences and then you have Costas hating on him in the booth. Then, after you win the gold medal, some bitch comes up and lips off.

 

I'm proud to be an American sometimes.

Two, Davis always intended to block Hedrick's minuscule chance for five golds. He planned to win the 1,000-meter race, also on the Texan's agenda.

 

so awesome

What'd she say/do?

 

 

Keep in mind this is all after he wouldn't do the interviews with NBC so they villainized him and characterized him as an Olympic villain/black Cinderalla story. So, since he wouldn't waste his time doing NBC interviews they only used the stuff from his teammate, Hedrick, who did nothing but hate on him. So, he was also portrayed as either bitter or not right in the head (like he was some kind of weirdo). So, Bob Costas kept characterizing Davis's behavior as "strange" and kind of hating up in his booth the whole time.

 

Then Costas said, "Well, there's no sign of Shauni Davis's mother, so maybe she's kept a low profile, but we've scanned the crowd and can't find her anywhere." Thus adding to the drama. OH NOES, his mom isn't there, WHAT NEXT!?

 

Here's my original post in another thread of his short interview:

 

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

*scarcasm* "Boy, you sure look happy!"

"You're the first African American to win this event, how do you feel?"

"Great."

"That's it?"

 

So, he had the stories all week being how he was either weird, a selfish dick or mentally unsound. You had his selfish teammate hating on him in press conferences and then you have Costas hating on him in the booth. Then, after you win the gold medal, some bitch comes up and lips off.

 

I'm proud to be an American sometimes.

 

Well, in fairness, the woman was just doing her job. And Shani supposedly smiled and whispered something to her afterwards, so he was probably letting her know it wasn't personal. Costas is the one who's allowed to editorialize and buried him a couple days ago.

I'm sorry, but if doing your job means playing to the f***ing lameass story over him winning the gold ("Are you angry, Shani?") then that sucks. If that's her job, then she sucks.

 

Plus, she let it escalate a little bit with those scarcastic comments.

Well, considering no one even knows her name, she clearly isn't in a position to not be doing what they're telling her in her ear.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

Davis came to skate the event he won gold in last night. Hedrick should have shut up.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Shani Davis is probably the only American Olympian I wasn't cheering against.

Meh, both parties are jerks. The media for trying to get him to say something stupid after he won and Davis for standoffish attitude with his teammates and the USOC. Maybe if he stood up for himself instead of letting his mother complain about the USOC and making him look like a bitch, the media wouldn't be on his case. Davis is a jerk for creating the "me against the rest of team" attitude and the media for perpetuating it.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

Where the hell did I call him a douche, or call him anything at all?

 

It was the first time I ever even watched speed skating during this Olympics, I didn't even know who Shani Davis was until about a minute before the race actually started, and after he won the gold medal I had no idea why he was so pissed in the interview. I asked a simple question, nothing more.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

Where the hell did I call him a douche, or call him anything at all?

 

It was the first time I ever even watched speed skating during this Olympics, I didn't even know who Shani Davis was until about a minute before the race actually started, and after he won the gold medal I had no idea why he was so pissed in the interview. I asked a simple question, nothing more.

 

AFTER my post on Shani Miller in the Bode Miller thread:

 

He's a douche bag.

 

 

http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...dpost&p=1055229

 

Yeah, I put words in your mouth.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

Where the hell did I call him a douche, or call him anything at all?

 

It was the first time I ever even watched speed skating during this Olympics, I didn't even know who Shani Davis was until about a minute before the race actually started, and after he won the gold medal I had no idea why he was so pissed in the interview. I asked a simple question, nothing more.

 

AFTER my post on Shani Miller in the Bode Miller thread:

 

He's a douche bag.

 

 

http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...dpost&p=1055229

 

Yeah, I put words in your mouth.

 

In all fairness, that comment was probably referred to Bode Miller, since he didn't quote your Shani Davis post.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

Where the hell did I call him a douche, or call him anything at all?

 

It was the first time I ever even watched speed skating during this Olympics, I didn't even know who Shani Davis was until about a minute before the race actually started, and after he won the gold medal I had no idea why he was so pissed in the interview. I asked a simple question, nothing more.

 

AFTER my post on Shani Miller in the Bode Miller thread:

 

He's a douche bag.

 

 

http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...dpost&p=1055229

 

Yeah, I put words in your mouth.

 

Wow, you must be one of those "special" kids.

 

I was talking about Bode Miller.

Awesome.

 

And yet people like Accord fall for it.

 

What the f***?

 

Well, I took it that by you calling the guy a douche you actually believed the speculations on the part of NBC and Costas.

 

I still believe you do.

Don't put words in my mouth.

 

Where the hell did I call him a douche, or call him anything at all?

 

It was the first time I ever even watched speed skating during this Olympics, I didn't even know who Shani Davis was until about a minute before the race actually started, and after he won the gold medal I had no idea why he was so pissed in the interview. I asked a simple question, nothing more.

 

AFTER my post on Shani Miller in the Bode Miller thread:

 

He's a douche bag.

 

 

http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...dpost&p=1055229

 

Yeah, I put words in your mouth.

 

Wow, you must be one of those "special" kids.

 

I was talking about Bode Miller.

 

Clearly.

 

So obvious, too. Oh, well, continue being ignorant. :whistle

Oh, well, continue being ignorant. :whistle

 

Pot... kettle.

Oh, well, continue being ignorant. :whistle

 

Pot... kettle.

 

The Pot Calling The Kettle Black ( to say something about someone else which is actually true of you yourself ... )

 

As long as you admit it. :mischief