Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Orser: "It came out of the blue."

More information is beginning to unfold in the big news yesterday that Kim Yu-Na would not be coached any longer by Brian Orser.

Again, it appears Kim's mother made the decision at an August 2nd meeting with Brian Orser and assistant coach Tracy Wilson. He waited three weeks before making a statement because he hoped things could be reconciled between them.

"It was very much a surprise," Orser told Randy Starkman of The Star. "There was really no valid reason. I still don’t understand why they did this. I don’t know. It came out of the blue. They sat down with me and Tracy and said we’re not coaching her anymore. And that was that."

Apparently Orser and his team were told to focus on other skaters they train (which include Adam Rippon and Christina Gao) as Kim Yu-Na had not yet finalized her plans for the upcoming season. However, Orser says not focusing on Kim was one of the reasons given for the decision to end the coaching partnership.

Orser goes on to say decisions about Kim Yu-Na's training always came from her mother. "We were just waiting to get our orders from the mother because that’s what we always did. She always told us when they were ready to move in a certain direction and we had a meeting and we got pen and paper out and we did a plan. We never got to that point."

While AT Sports claims relations between Kim and Orser have been uneasy since May, Orser claims that simply isn't the case. He also made it clear money wasn't the reason either as Orser has never had a contract with Kim. Orser says he knew something was up when he was left completely out of the loop over Kim's plans during the summer and none of the people working with Kim including Shae-Lynn Bourne would fill him in with any details. "When are you coming back to Toronto? There was not even a response there. It was really kind of pathetic."

Seemingly caught in the middle is Kim Yu-Na. Orser believes she wasn't a part of these decisions at all and is as confused as he is. "I spoke with her the other day. She seems confused about what’s going on. Because of all this turmoil with her mother, she doesn’t know what’s going on. Nor do I. That’s what I said to her, 'I’m a little confused, but it’s been a great four years.'"

Weird! Orser says he's decided to move on. "I’ve got some great kids. I love my job, I love my work and I’ll continue to."

Update: Just moments ago, the following Tweet came from Kim Yu-Na's Twitter Account: Would you please stop to tell a lie, B? I know exactly what's going on now and this is what I've DECIDED.

UPDATE: Brian Orser speaks out on CTV's Canada AM.

5 comments:

jumping clapping man said...

maybe the "stage mother" finally figured out orser was gay ;-)

although i joke...i wonder if there was/is something regarding his personal life that played into this, knowing how toxic and irrational homophobia is. just a hunch.

Aaron said...

I think it may have something to do with the fact that for a fraction of a second Orser may have considered coaching 'another prominent skater from Asia.'

Aaron said...

From http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/2010/08/kim-orser-split-olympic-champions-coach-feels-insulted-and-disrespected.html

In a statement Monday reported by a Korean newspaper, AT Sports said, "Ever since Orser was offered a job to coach another skater, we have had an awkward relationship. Since June, Kim Yuna has essentially been training alone."

Anonymous said...

Based on the updated Twitter account, it sounds like Yu-Na's mom has now made up Yu-Na's mind and they needed to get their stories straight.

Excuse me, but she's almost 20, Olympic champion and her mom is still calling all the shots? Maybe she needs a good real estate agent before finding another coach right now.

I see a great Lifetime movie coming out of this saga to the small screen soon.

dee said...

An article everyone seems to have missed:

http://www.universalsports.com/blogs/blog=gofigure/postid=490379.html

"But now, it appears Orser has taken it a step too far by breaking an unwritten rule in figure skating - revealing a skater's music without consent."

As much as I think that this whole situation is poorly handled by both sides, and they all need to get their stories straight - this seems to be WAY out of the line for Orser.