Nobunari Oda resigns as coach from Kansai University due to "moral harassment"

[Figure_Frenzy]

...also Nobu, *whispers* go coach in Sendai, the Tohoku kids needs you, Nanami sensei surely can get a helping hand, especially from an Olympian as special as you! (I hope his immediate family (ie. wife and kids) is open to the idea of moving to a new place — I mean, I know that commuter marriages are common in Japan, but I can't bear the thought of Nobu being separated from his family should he take an offer to coach in another region, especially not after such a battered mental state

[sallycinnamon]

I was shocked to read the news, I feel very sad that Nobu had to go through all this. He's such a nice person, I can't even imagine why did it happen to him. I hope he'll be able to find a new place where he'll be much respected. I wish him all the best. 

[rockstaryuzu]

31 minutes ago, Umebachi said:

 

She was not disgraced.  She remained president of JSF and now promoted to a cabinet level position.  Sadly, it's one of the reasons why I have moved permanently to Canada.  I know I should have stayed to keep up the fight, but I will have ended up a mental case or too angry to be helpful.   

 that's...kind of..  incredible in a way. You'd think there would have been some repercussions. 

 

Makes me feel even more sorry for Nobu. I hope he gets a new job quickly. 

 

 

 

[Neenah]

Glad Nobu left that toxic place. Hopefully he finds a better working environment that will help him heal and achieve his ambitions.

 

Unfortunately, things like this happen every where but in the end it is their loss that someone as talented as him has left. So, good for him that he is free of the stress, and let them chock on their own toxicity.

[Umebachi]

35 minutes ago, Fay said:

Oh dear, sorry for you! 

 

No, don't feel sorry for me - I am one of the lucky ones who found a safe haven, and very grateful to Canada for giving me a lovely place to live.  I want to give back to society by actively engaging in ways to bring light to such bullying behavior and creating a network of caring people across the world.  This Planet is one important example of how we can start to heal this toxic world by spreading compassion and understanding.  Yuzu is the guiding light.  As you can see from this exchange, Team Japan faces many challenges but people like Yuzu and Nobu will be the hope and legacy to nurture the future generation of athletes.

[Sombreuil]

I remember thinking when I looked at the footage from Sochi and the group interviews that there was a decided lack of enthusiasm about the gold medal, and preference and air time given to the senior skaters over the medal winner.  Only when he was interviewed on his own by Shizuka was there any animation about it.  When I looked further back at 2012 I thought it might be a situation where Takahashi was the adored ‘ace’, Machida the expected heir and Hanyu was expected to wait his turn or even make up the numbers until a more usual candidate for the top spot came along but of course he was too much of a force of nature for that to be the outcome.  This seems to be borne out by those photos and what @Umebachi and @Geo1 are saying here and on the general thread.  Very disheartening .

[Sombreuil]

Have some Max and Angelo to take the taste away

 

[yuzuangel]

Internal JSF politics must be a heck of a mess given only what is publicly known. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a ton of bullying behind the scenes that we haven't heard, especially knowing Japanese people are unlikely to complain openly about these things. Maybe that's one reason Yuzu moved to Canada and doesn't seem particularly inclined to return, until he retires and is free from their grasp at least.

[EisElle]

6 hours ago, Umebachi said:

As I noted earlier, Kansai University has powerful connections.  The "Honorary Advisor" 名誉顧問 of the Kansai University Skating Club is no other than the recently appointed Minister of Olympics, Seiko Hashimoto.  When I heard that she had been appointed to this important position, I felt a cold shiver run down my back.  We have had a run of terrible appointments for the Olympics Minister - one of them was forced to resign because he made horrific comments about our top swimmer, Rikako Ike'e when she came down with leukemia.  Hashimoto is a fan of Daisuke Takahashi (there are photos of her forcing a kiss on Takahashi - talk about harrassment!), and she also made cutting comments to Hanyu-senshu to his face when she was supposed to congratulating him for Sochi gold.  I am deeply saddened.  I was so looking forward to Tokyo 2020 events, but her appointment has already ruined the experience for me.

I hope Nomura Mansai and Hanyu-senshu can find ways to exorcise the toxic spirits from the Olympics.   

 

even if I knew Hashimoto had good chances to get that position, to know she really got it  was still a disappointment (coupled with knowing who was appointed as the new JSF President). Hashimoto is really someone I wouldn't want to be the "face" of sport... or olympics... but looks like for some reason politics disagree with having decent people in key-roles. Very sad

How can one trust an organization (JSF) that has kept such a person as representative for so long?

and this time, even if we don't know for sure if she had any part in Nobu's situation, her track-record doesn't make me particularly willing to give the benefit of the doubt...

then again, it's not like the other feds and ISU do that much better either  I mean, Didier is still there too... 

LMAO unrelated but looks like booing ISU chairman in the rink happened several times in the past, Ottavio Cinquanta was loudly booed in competitions held in NA

 

 

In general I think most TeamJapan older skaters were good senpai to Yuzu. But it wouldn't be surprising if they really felt closer to each other (competed together longer) while Yuzu paid the "price" of being much younger, "outsider" in several ways (different age, not from one of the usual "powerhouses", taking the stage by storm and upsetting the "natural order", that was unusual in Men). Add moving abroad and chances of being "involved" and developing a deeper bond were rather limited. But still, there were Mura and Nobu oc, and Machida (who could pinpoint Yuzuru's personality better than most)...

but recalling 2012 Nats is always painful (and especially watching those few secs of podium footage, it really breaks your heart)

 

Now, re: the Sochi group pic, tbh I don't know what were the circumstances (and where the heck Yuzu was), so I don't want to think about something done on purpose, but recalling how Yuzuru fully enjoyed his PC experience, closing ceremony included (and mixing with teammates and all the wholesome content we got) I'm very happy

Also, Nobu is truly very sweet and caring and deserves all the best

[Veveco]

This is such an ugly mess. Doing that to Nobu, of all people! I'm glad to see him get the support he deserves on sns (#WeLoveYouNobu), and I agree that writing in English was a smart move. The tweet has also been relayed by several well-known faces in FS (Max, Jacky Wong, ...) so the story cannot be completely buried by internal politicking. Though I hope he won't get dragged in the mud too much in repercussion and that he'll find a new (and healthier) position soon!

[yuzupon]

Yikes, of all people, it was Hashimoto they appointed for 2020???!

 

Yeah, flash back to Sochi is always bitter sweet. Oda (and Kozuka) wasn't named in favour of Takahashi, which was understandable, but still very disappointing (not to mention, those criteria used to select Takahashi, were suddenly under 'questioning' by some fans when it was used to name Yuzu for PC. Ugh!). That Zuzu himself wasn't 100% happy with his gold medal wasn't helped any by his exclusion. And it's not about Seniority  either - Murakami was the same age as Zu and she WAS included. That's why Oda tweeted that tweet.

 

Oh, Oda-kun... I wish you all the best with what you want to do continuing forward! I am still mourning the fact that it is not YOU who decided to unretire. Ganba!!!

[sweetwater]

5 hours ago, yuzuangel said:

Slight digression, but what is this? Were old tweets from Oda being brought up again recently?

 

 

 

 

Do you remember the news about the job ad recruiting part-timer to slander Yuzu? Nobu was the only one among sempais who retweeted and shared the article. No one else said anything or showed any interest in that matter. It was somewhat understandable since the advertiser was stating in that ad that they were doing so to support other skaters naming specific names, so sharing the info could cause them trouble, and it wasn't clear if they had anything to do with the advertiser. But Japanese fans were somewhat saddened by that and Nobu was the only one who gave us some hope.
Nobu was also the only Japanese skater who reacted to this picture and worried about Yuzu not being there. 
Nobu is seen as a sunny, sweet person, but he is also strong-minded and often speaks up when no one else does.
This time, he is in a difficult situation, but he has to fight alone since he doesn't have Nobu, so we are worried and think of how Nobu has been kind and strong.

 

Rest is a loooong rant.

Spoiler

I don't know how I can express my feelings about this.
I've been mad and sad about this news all day. I knew something was wrong since when I read the news of his resignation. Nobu referred to the source simply as "the article" in his English comment, but there were a few articles reported news, and the one I read was an article published by a community news site run by Kansai University itself.  Their article was the only one which had a direct quote from the university's representative. While they reported in the article that Nobu and the university had been discussing the matter, in the title, they used an expression "電撃退任" which implies that Nobu's resignation was a bolt from the blue. I felt weird when I read it and suspected that they might want to make Nobu look like a bad guy, who suddenly abandoned his job for his convenience, and I was probably right.

 

How could they treat him this way after making him work for them for two years without paying salary? Director of their skating club wasn't an honorary position. He actually spent hours on their ice to coach their students and attended small competitions while doing many other jobs. He has been working hard to maintain (and enhance) his skills, and it is not just to challenge himself but to be able to teach the correct technique to his students. He is very sincere when he commentates because his students may watch and learn from it. How could they say that he resigned because he prioritized other things over coaching?

 

And what irritates me most is that this isn't the first time Nobu received unfair treatment. At NHK 2013, he got held down in SP by selective calls, just like Yuzu at ACI this year, and in that competition, the tech panel helped his teammate at Kansai Univ instead of his rivals from other countries. Of course, JSF didn't say anything even though experienced commentators like Takeshi Honda and Minoru Sano said it was misjudging. This judging, in the end, affected Olympic team selection since Nobu and the other Japanese skater earned season's best scores there, which was one of the selection criteria.

 

The unfair judging also affected the other skater hugely, in a bad way. He got so many antis overnight because of the judging. People suspected that he received special treatment. Sochi team selection and the kiss deepen such suspicion and that disgraced him and made it difficult for his fans to accept the way he ended his competitive career (once) So, the unfair treatment is one of the causes of the current situation around Yuzu and antis as well.

 

I don't know why Hashimoto and co don't learn from what happened in the past and stop making new mistakes. In the end, they aren't helping their favorite either. They are just nipping off the buds of beautiful flowers and overwatering their favorite flowers until they got rotten. I am sick of seeing this situation.

 

[rockstaryuzu]

2 hours ago, sweetwater said:

but he is also strong-minded and often speaks up when no one else does.

Also, because of his family name, people are probably more inclined to listen when he does speak, and he gets more leeway to speak up in the first place. 'Oda' is almost as noble as it gets. I'm pretty stunned that he got bullied, at all, b/c I would think that coming from such a respected family might make people think twice.  It really makes me wonder who is behind it all, ultimately, and how they can get away with it. 

 

 

[liv]

What a big old mess. Poor Nobu. I always thought (not having any insight etc into JSF politics or J society in general) that Nobu was well liked and respected since he seems to be everywhere on tv as a commentator/in shows etc.. I guess that doesn't matter if you are not one of the chosen favourites. I hope he finds welcome somewhere for his talents and skills, immune to behind the scenes machinations.

 

I"m glad we have an English message, then it's out there for the rest of us to read and interpret on our own. I agree, that was smart on his part.

 

This sort of thing makes me glad Yuzu has found a bat cave on the other side of the ocean in order to retreat when needed.

[sweetwater]

23 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Also, because of his family name, people are probably more inclined to listen when he does speak, and he gets more leeway to speak up in the first place. 'Oda' is almost as noble as it gets. I'm pretty stunned that he got bullied simply b/c of that, and it really makes me wonder who is behind it all, ultimately. 

 

 

He became famous at first because of his name, but it was only after Sochi when many people started to have chances to listen to him and started taking his words seriously.  When he was still competing, he didn't appear in the media so much as he does now, and he could not speak up much since he was still part of JSF. He said that when he was at school people sometimes joked about his family name, but it was rather in the skating community he had been bullied. He once said that he had thought that he would have been dead if he didn't have a family. I think that is one of the reasons why he always cares about those who seem to be bullied.