Several sports media columnists picked up on comments made
by Nancy Kerrigan into the camera after her performance during
the first installment of CBS's "Ice Wars: The USA vs. The World"
on Wednesday night. In Boston, Jack Craig & Jim Greenidge
report, "Once again, the television camera has proven an
adversary rather than an ally" of Kerrigan. After her routine
Wednesday, Kerrigan returned to her teammates, sat down and
noticed that CBS was replaying her missed jumps. Then looking
directly into the camera, she said: "You probably just loved
that." Craig & Greenidge note that she was smiling, "but it
would not be described as a warm smile." Dewey Blanton, VP of
Public Relations for ProServ, the firm that represents Kerrigan:
"She's an athlete; she wanted to do well. She was very
disappointed she didn't help her teammates. She was blowing off
some steam" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/11). The headline over BOSTON
HERALD TV columnist Jim Baker's piece this morning: "Kerrigan
still complaining" (BOSTON HERALD, 11/11). Rudy Martzke reports
Kerrigan told her teammates, "I'm sorry. I sucked." CBS Sports
Senior VP Rick Gentile: "People are ready to pounce on Nancy too
quickly" (USA TODAY, 11/11).
MORE ATTENTION: During the intermission of Saturday's
conclusion of "Ice Wars," CBS will run a 10-minute segment on
Kerrigan's Olympic and post-Olympic experience. The feature will
focus on the "closeness of the judging" that gave the gold medal
to Oksana Baiul, and ignore the recent controversy over
Kerrigan's relationship with her agent, ProServ President Jerry
Solomon. "Ice Wars" producer David Winner: "We give her her day
in court. Who the skaters are sleeping with isn't the show's
province" (Steve Nidetz, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/11). The feature
also examines whether Kerrigan has received a "raw deal" from the
media. CBS announcer Verne Lundquist, referring to CBS picking
offhand comments made by Kerrigan during the '94 medal ceremony:
"We offered Nancy a chance, hopefully, to put in some context
what happened and what was going on. That may have been the one
error we (CBS) made during the (Olympic) coverage" (Milton Kent,
Baltimore SUN, 11/11). Solomon appears in the feature "and
concedes it was a mistake for her to leave the Olympic village
for Disney World before the games ended" (Craig & Greenidge,
BOSTON GLOBE, 11/11).
