Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir didn’t hold back expressing their opinions on the figure skating controversy.
During NBC Sports’ coverage of the women’s free skate competition at the Olympics, Weir and Lipinski explained why they were relieved that Kamila Valieva didn’t earn a medal.
“Thank God,” Weir said when he found out Valieva’s score.
“Yes, thank goodness for all the other medalists to have that moment,” Lipinski added.
The performance was amid controversy, as Valieva performed despite testing positive for a banned substance before the Olympics. The IOC allowed her to compete in the competition, but if she finished in the top three there wouldn’t be a medal ceremony.
Valieva entered her final skate in the lead, but multiple stumbles during her performance dropped her down to forth. Since she wasn’t medaling, the IOC allowed the medal ceremony for this event to take place.
Weir made it clear that he was more so happy for the three medalists in this event who competed fairly than for Valieva not medaling.
“Every one of these athletes have given up so much of their lives for this dream and I commend all of the athletes that competed here cleany, but it is heartbreaking,” Weir said.
Additionally, Valieva’s coach, Eteri Tutberidze, was criticized for being too harsh on Valieva after the performance ended.
Lipinski put the blame on the people who surround Valieva instead of Valieva herself.
“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on Kamila,” Lipinski said. “And it makes me angry that the adults around her weren’t able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she is the one now dealing with the consequences, and she’s just 15 and that’s not fair.”
Weir agreed, but explained why Valieva competing wasn’t fair towards the rest of the competition.
“On a human level I can’t imagine going through what she has been through, but that doesn’t change the fact that she should’ve been nowhere near this competition. Every athlete at this level knows and understands that if you test positive for a banned substance you will not compete.”
