Important

Starting a dedicated thread here:

From Evan's Twitter:

ALERT!! Disclaimer:

All ye who enter here, please be aware that the discussion here is based on opinions and ELFF speculations only.

NO ONE HERE HAS ANY INFORMATION FROM ANY OFFICIAL SOURCE WHATSOEVER!

The views expressed here in no way reflect Evan's "position" nor that of United States Figure Skating (USFS) or Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Thank you.
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Now that I have thought about this issue overnight, even if it IS all about money (which I don't think is true, but just for argument's sake), I tend to blame USFS. For years they have been saying "Oh no, what are we going to do without a Michelle Kwan? Who's the next Michelle Kwan? Oh no, what are we going to do without a superstar?" Well, now they have a superstar. Plus, Evan is a hot guy in a sport where most of the fans are women and the advertisers target women. And his name is already out there in the general public through vehicles such as DWTS. Evan's comeback to competition can potentially draw in at least as many new fans as Michelle Kwan ever did, probably more.

I'm sure USFS believes they are constrained by their budget, and there is probably some truth to that. But Michael Kaiser (who is the current President of the Kennedy Center and previously made a career out of turning around distressed arts organizations) has said that when an organization is in trouble, you can't keep cutting back, or the organization will die. You have to expand to turn it around. Evan's willingness to come back to competitive skating is a chance to turn the sport around. If USFS refuses to take this opportunity to expand, the sport will continue to die.

As current example, I wonder how much damage this contract issue has already done to the relationship between USFS and NBC. NBC set aside several hours of air time for the live men's competition this Saturday. The competitors who will be there are talented, fun competitors who will do a great job. But they won't draw the kind of ratings or the new repeat fans/viewers that Evan's comeback would have. The potential for a better TV contract in future years may have already been damaged.

Something else that occurred to me overnight. Evan was listed as being on the Today Show last Monday, but was not. Today is on NBC, and NBC is showing Skate America. Perhaps Evan was slated to be on the Today Show to promote Skate America, but that fell through because of the issues with the USFSA?

I am just speculating, of course. But since the appearance was supposed to be last Monday, and we found out on Friday about the contract issues, I have to wonder if the two are connected.

As far as Evan's agent is concerned, I was poking around last night to see if his agent (CAA) has a presence on either Twitter or Facebook, and could find nothing. I also found their website.

http://www.sports.caa.com/

I can find no mention of Evan there at all, which concerns me. Evan was (and still is, actually) listed on IMG's website.

Very interesting. It's all starting to add up.

I thought the same thing about the Today show appearance. I also wondered if Evan had been scheduled to appear to talk about competing again in SA and since contract issues weren't resolved the appearance was cancelled. I'm just thinking out loud and speculating, too.

I had that same thought about the Today Show.

For a quick example, in February of 2010, one of my favorite politicians was supposed to be on a news show. He wasn't on the morning he was advertised to be on. A few days later, he announced retirement from the Senate. Then it all made sense as to why he wasn't on.

So, I would say that the reason Evan wasn't on the Today Show was because of this issue, even though we didn't make that connection until this weekend when it became obvious.

I'm sorry to hear this. I can't help wonder what's behind it....

I have been connecting the NBC live broadcast of the men's event live on Sat. with the lack of contract with Evan all along and wondering how they are thinking about this. This can really hurt the relationship between USFS and NBC. I don't know why USFS doesn't see this. I also agree with Diane's earlier mention about the bewailing that went on about the lack of a "superstar" after the absence of Michelle Kwan. Now we do have a superstar but USFS is throwing him under the bus, so to speak. Also being that Evan is a really hot guy and most fans are women is an opportunity to draw in a lot of fans. Look how many fans came on board after DWTS? I don't think any celebrity has burned up that dance floor than Evan. He does the same on ice and women love it. It makes me want to keep saying, " What is wrong with USFS?" It seems to me they would want to pour as much money as possible Evan's way. He commands top dollar every where he goes, so why not from his federation.

I disagree, however, that it is not necessary for Evan to compete at the GP's. Those who do not compete at the GP's because of injury or whatever, are at a definite disadvantage when they get to Nationals. They have not had an opportunity to test drive their programs. That is very important. Frank and Evan were forever analyzing and tweaking his programs until they finally got them perfect for Worlds or the Olympics. Look what happened to Yuna Kim when her first competition was at Worlds last year? Definitely not a good idea. That is why I cannot understand why Evan hasn't stepped in and said, "Enough. I need to skate." If competing is the thing he loves to do most, then he should be out there, USFS be damned. I don't know why he is allowing his agency to keep him from it. I can't believe the offer from USFS is that bad that he can't accept it conditionally while they continue negotiations. He is throwing away the entire GP series. For this reason, I am a bit aggravated with Evan. Someone has to put an end to the dispute and at this point I think it is for Evan's best interests that he put an end to it so he can compete. This is the year to begin to make a move toward the Olympics. I think he is making a big mistake by sitting out the GP's, especially considering he did not compete last season. Perhaps the USFS would like Evan to prove himself on competition ice first. They haven't seen him compete since the Olympics either. Both sides, I think, need to be more reasonable because both sides have a lot to lose and nothing to gain by this dispute. It is really a sad day for USFS and for Evan Lysacek. USFS is not showing their sincere support and Evan is not on his part that he is really serious about going for another Olympics. That is the way I am seeing it now.

I agree with a lot of what you said, CarleyB, but I think as others have suggested, there is probably more to this than *just* money. As it's been suggested, perhaps it's the use of his name to promote SA as well? Maybe his agency is just not handling this well? I have no idea, but it seems like money isn't THE driving issue here. From what we do know, I agree that both sides need to be more reasonable as they all have a lot to lose and basically nothing to gain. But I do feel like Evan is being thrown under the bus.

That said, I think it's better for Evan to be in the GP, but since he won't, he and Frank/Lori have these next two/three months to prepare for Nationals and continue to tweak his programs and hopefully go to Worlds. Then go all in for everything in the 2012/2013 season, which will hopefully lead to a great 2013/2014 season.

Also, Evgeni Plushenko took three years off before Vancouver and still managed to win silver. I think Evan is better than him, so taking the GP off this year and having all of 2012 and 2013 to prepare for 2014 might be enough to make him still win at Sochi, or at the very least, go to Sochi and do as best as he can under these circumstances (I don't want him to come so close yet so far like he did in Torino, but if that happens to him in Sochi, I'll still be proud of him that he went and gave it his all.) Regardless, I think he truly does want to compete and this is just a roadblock in the way. Whichever side -- if either -- is more in the wrong, I hope they make it right soon so Evan can get back on the ice and not be distracted with this drama.

Evan said he would never do what Plushenko or Sasha did and take three years off and then try to make a comeback. He said he intends to be in peak form by 2013, and if he doesn't compete this season, I don't know that he will be able to do that. It is not certain that this contract dispute will be settled by Nationals. Contracts are supposed to be in place for every skater before the beginning of each season. The season has begun and he has no contract. From what I have read, money is the issue. I don't know what else could be so important as to delay the settling of the contract.

I wasn't aware that he had said that. Hopefully he'll be able to be in peak form in a year and a half.

If it is just money, then ... I don't know if it's true in other countries, but here in the US, figure skaters here get paid essentially nothing compared to the pro football/baseball/basketball players. So, when the skaters aren't making a whole lot to begin with, I think it's a bit silly to ask them to take less. I'm not saying that all athletes should be paid the same -- but I am saying that when you don't get paid a lot for being a particular kind of athlete to begin with, it's giving the athlete the short end of the stick to ask them to take less.

I'm inclined to think that, while money may be part of it, there's almost certainly more to it than we've heard. Contracts are very complex, and who knows what the hold-up really is.

I agree with Carley that both parties are going to lose here. At the same time, I ultimately think the blame should be placed at the feet of Evan's agent. It is the agent's job to hammer out the agreement, and they've failed, to the detriment of Evan, USFSA, and the fans.

Since Evan has no contract with USFSA, I would assume there's zero chance that Evan will be at Skate America in any capacity this weekend (such as the breakfast or the RISE party).

What you have read - what any of us has read as it's all that's available - comes only from what USFS has said, both in their own press release announcing Razanno, and in what they fed to Hersh. Of course they would oversimplify by stating money was the problem to make their case look better and Evan the "bad guy, in the hopes of pressuring him to sign anything they offer so he can skate.

Money is part of the reason but not the only one, so I think it's in his best interest to stand up for himself. He's no longer "just another competitor" in the ranks. He's earned the right to decide a few things for himself. It's easy for us to say he should tell his people to settle so I can skate, but I maintain there's more to it than that.

Evan responded in a text message to Hersh that he would not go into the issues but did say he was ready to compete. That implies to me it's much more than money. I think it's a matter of control over what he can and can't do and where he can or can not do it. I'm proud that he's taking a stand, either directly and or through his mgt. (I'm not convinced yet that he has the best mgt. in CAA, but that's a whole different discussion. imo. ) The point is, they ARE the ones negotiating.

Nothing in contract negotiations is ever as simple as only money. Many times the sticking points come further down, in the fine print. I trust Evan to know what he's doing. He's the one who knows the details, all we can do is speculate, and while it's interesting and fun to do so, it still is up to him to make his own decisions.

He's either a man to make his own choices or he isn't. He can't be a man when he makes ones others like and then be a "boy" when he doesn't. Some of them may not work out - but he's a man who has a right to make them - and learn from them, as he always does.

I second what you said about the contract, Mary.

I also have this feeling that the use of his name and image was to also pressure him into trying to take whatever deal was best for them. Then when he said no, they turned it into making him look bad. (Unfortunately, I think it's worked judging from some of the skating blogs I read.)

I could be wrong about the motives the use of his name and image, but that's just what I'm feeling.