CHICAGO — I have been trying to figure out what led Olympic champion Shani Davis last week to call U.S. Speedskating’s new benefactor, Stephen Colbert, “a jerk.”
Was it a reaction to Colbert’s recent “attack” of Canadians and Canadian speedskaters? Probably a little of that.
Was this just Davis’ way of doing anything he can to distance himself from a federation with which he has been at odds for years?
Or, as I suspect, did it have most to do with the way Colbert treated the controversy involving Davis and U.S. teammate Chad Hedrick over team pursuit at the 2006 Olympics?
Even knowing the nature of Colbert’s shtick, it is easy to understand how a Feb. 22, 2006, skit could have offended Davis.
The part where Colbert says, “Shani Davis should have skated in the team pursuit even though it interfered with his training for the 1,000 meters … sometimes you have to put aside your ego and sacrifice individual glory for the sake of the team if you are black” does not seem entirely tempered by the satirical context the comedian adds in the next minute or so. As a rare black man in his sport — the first black athlete to win an individual event gold medal in the Winter Olympics — Davis long has dealt with stereotypes that discouraged other African-Americans from speedskating.
The back story: Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” stepped up to help raise funds for U.S. Speedskating after learning the federation was $300,000 in the hole after losing the sponsorship of a primary backer when DSB bank of the Netherlands went under. Colbert asked his viewers to contribute; according to U.S. Speedskating, about 8,500 have responded to raise about $250,000 so far.
In the process, Colbert took off from news reports about Canada restricting foreign skaters’ use of the 2010 Olympic oval in Vancouver by calling the Canadians “iceholes” and “syrup-suckers.”
That provoked an outraged, knee-jerk reaction by some in the Canadian media, their brains apparently too frozen to realize 1) Colbert was having fun; and 2) his involvement likely has done more to raise awareness of speedskating in North America than anything else in the sport’s history.
Asked about Colbert last week in Calgary, where a World Cup meet took place, Davis was quoted as saying, “He’s a jerk. You can put that in the paper.”
It is understandable Davis might be sensitive to someone dissing Canadians. He feels a fondness and gratitude to the Canadian speedskating community. Calgary was his training base leading up to the 2006 Olympics, and Canadian officials gave him both rink time and other support at the 1988 Olympic oval there.
Davis’ “jerk” remark, indirectly a slap at the U.S. Speedskating, came at a time when he seemed to be engaged in rapprochement with the federation.
Davis seems a lock to win medals in at least two races, the 1,000 and 1,500, at the 2010 Winter Games, and two golds would not be a surprise.
It would be a shame if he were prevented from enjoying every bit of such an achievement.
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