Kwan Is Gone, but She’s Not Forgotten Yet

After toiling through three negative, dyspeptic columns by Bill Plaschke from the Turin Olympics, I can think of only two plausible explanations for such jaundiced journalism:

1. He’s still miffed that he wasn’t in Honolulu covering the Pro Bowl.

2. Plaschke is a French surname, and he’s under the mistaken impression that he’s on assignment for Le Monde.

SCOTT BUEHNER

Calabasas

*

Bill Plaschke’s unrealistic and unjustly negative observations about the opening ceremony of the Olympics provided me with great optimism. It gave me, and I suspect many others, hope that the assignment of this sportswriter to review a theatrical production is an indication Plaschke might be transferred to the Calendar section.

GENE WALSH

Burbank

*

Geez, Plaschke, make up your mind. One day you rake Kwan for even being in Turin, then when she steps down, she’s the next Mother Teresa.

Meanwhile, I watch Bode Miller being interviewed after not winning a medal, expecting him to be sarcastic. Instead, he says, “Hey, I did my best but didn’t win.” Miller even says that no matter how well he skied he would not have beaten France’s Antoine Deneriaz on that day. How much more humility do want from a ski racer, for crying out loud?

JEFF HEISTER

Chatsworth

*

Thank you, Bill Plaschke, for telling Michelle Kwan what to do. Now that you’ve done your good work, you can get on your high horse and ride out of Turin.

MICHELLE BRUE

Valley Glen

*

As a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Assn. and a 72-year-old adult competitor, I was appalled at Bill Plaschke’s article, “Kwan Needs to Step Aside.”

I just learned that she has gracefully withdrawn. However, the article was demeaning and humiliating to me and I only hope that she never reads it.

Although Michelle is not always my favorite performer, she is the most dedicated, determined and consistent skater I have ever known of in more than 50 years of skating and being a fan.

JANET WORTMAN

Marina del Rey

*

Michelle Kwan’s Olympic dream should have ended when she pulled out of qualifying for the U.S. championships. What other sport would allow the absurd accommodations U.S. Figure Skating afforded Kwan? If a quarterback hurts his thumb before the Super Bowl, is the game postponed? Injuries are a part of sports.

The only tragedy here is that the skater now replacing Kwan will have less time to prepare.

JASON SMITH

North Hollywood

*

I don’t know what constitutes a “champion” in the eyes of the journalists reporting on Michelle Kwan’s withdrawal from the Olympics, but the last time I looked she had won two medals, a silver and a bronze, in the 1998 and 2002 Games.

The overemphasis on winning the gold is an affront to the Olympic experience.

CAROL WEISSBERG

Chatsworth

*

Generations from now, kids will enter a Google search containing the words, “sportsmanship, dignity, class and champion” and at the top of the list will be the name of Michelle Kwan.

GARY YAMADA

Arcadia

*

Michelle Kwan is an honorable woman. Politicians and activists should take note. My opinion of her just skyrocketed. Sometimes you don’t have to be a champion to come out on top.

TIM ELLIOTT

Burbank

*

It is interesting to compare the inspiring story on skier Lindsey Kildow by J.A. Adande [Feb. 16] with Bill Plaschke’s treatment of figure skater Michelle Kwan. Both deal with athletes poised to compete for Olympic medals hobbled by injuries.

Mr. Plaschke focuses on the skill-level athletes must demonstrate to remain credible in world-class competition. Unable to deliver a peak performance, in this frame of reference Michelle Kwan did the noble thing by quitting when she realized she couldn’t give 100%.

By contrast Mr. Adande focuses on “spirit” and therefore praises Lindsey Kildow for boldly skiing hurt against the world’s best even when defeat was a foregone conclusion. There is no “right” perspective on the dilemma faced by these two champions, only the mixed emotions that fans and sportswriters alike bring to the drama of the Olympics.

JIM VALENTINE

Woodland Hills

*

Before Bill Plaschke decides to draw a big bright halo around Michelle Kwan’s head, he needs to get honest answers to the following questions:

Did Kwan know before she traveled to Italy that she would not be able to compete in the Olympics?

Did Kwan attend the opening ceremony under any kind of pressure from her corporate sponsors or NBC?

If Kwan honestly thought she had a chance to compete at full strength, then why did she risk aggravating her groin injury by putting herself through the rigors of the opening ceremony?

Did Kwan deny Emily Hughes her first great moment in the spotlight so that she could savor her last?

ED LOMAX

Rancho Cucamonga