Why *did* Scott and Tessa cold-shoulder Debbi Wilkes?

While Debbi Wilkes lowered her profile a tiny bit after we saw her creeping in the background of skater interviews, positioning herself center frame and having instructed everyone in the premises to clear the field of vision for her, which - embarrassing - she nevertheless popped up and re-commenced interviewing skaters not long after, including Chan and including Kaetlyn Osmond. But not Scott and Tessa.

Now what happened? Were Scott and Tessa mortified when they realized Debbi was staging herself in the background of their interviews with P.J.?

I don't think so. Scott and Tessa were standing there like petrified mummies, barely moving even from the neck up as P.J. opened the can and dished out MacQuestions. They knew what Debbi was doing back there. It was payment in kind.

I wonder, though, if they had previously failed to do the math that Debbi spending all this time on them, leaching off their spotlight, contributed to her egregious neglect of other figure skaters.

People might talk.

I wonder if, amidst all the convenience of having various directors running around a la flunkies and Scott and Tessa's personal managers, it hadn't crossed Scott and Tessa's minds that because these officials were so focused on Scott and Tessa, other skaters were getting screwed, and these other skaters and their families might be pissed.

And furthermore, because these particular personalities were of service to Scott and Tessa in the positions they occupied, the positions weren't filled by people qualified to do the actual job. Ergo - the work of those positions was neglected.

Scott and Tessa's use of flunkies dedicated to their very specific personal interests gave clowns like Debbi job security and prevented the hiring and installation of people who would actually work in the best interests of everyone. What was good for Scott and Tessa was detrimental to the health of Skate Canada at large, and Scott and Tessa were using Skate Canada officials/resources that are meant to be allocated to Skate Canada, not towards Scott and Tessa's personal concerns, some of which were manufactured.

You know the old stories in business and politics about why the hell is this egregiously incompetent person in an important job? So the department or organization becomes dysfunctional not just in the area of personal politics, but in getting anything accomplished? People interested in doing something find themselves stymied or logjammed because the person at the top had other agendas? Maybe they're having an affair with the big boss, maybe they're somebody's bosom buddy, trusted consigliere or maybe they make another contribution that has little to do with getting the job done and everything to do with a personal tie?

That's pretty much what it looked like for quite awhile there with Wilkes and Virtue Moir. Not to mention, all that Debbi's familiar, Barb MacDonald, cared about was pumping out Scott/Jessica sham drops and posing adjacent to the organization's stars. All Debbi cared about was putting herself and her teeth on skatebuzz and pasting herself to VM and their parents (mothers).

I don't think Scott and Tessa care much that Debbi Wilkes is a horrible interviewer. I don't think they care that she sucks up all the oxygen in a room, or that she's back there striking the pose while they're parroting sound bites to PJ.

But Alma and Carol and their families have been part of Skate Canada almost as long as Debbi. Their business is figure skating, not only as a regional club but as an ambitious club that they hope will launch more than just their own kids towards competitive careers on a national level. Their kids have coached juniors and other youngsters.

To have an important Skate Canada director be so public about acting as their kids' personal consigliere while doing jackshit for anyone else in the organization is a political liability. But that's what was happening. Debbi had the title of Director of Business Development and she did nothing but interview skaters and get in Scott and Tessa's sham business.

It looked bad once attention was called to this. And I think that's the only reason Scott and Tessa backed off from Debbi. It's not because Debbi is corrupt; it's because the association began to hurt the Moir brand as figure skating's biggest fans.

Now that Scott and Tessa have appeared to put some distance between themselves and Wilkes, Wilkes hasn't changed her way of doing business (her business is Debbi Wilkes) but at least Scott and Tessa can no longer be blamed. Debbi is now busy pretending that Gilles & Poirier are big, in demand stars, international audience favorites who are asked to perform in galas even after finishing far out of the running in the actual competition. She needs a star to manage and leach off because she doesn't do her director's job - that's just a title. As much of contemporary figure skating seems to be built on the philosophy that you no longer need to actually do or be something, just say you have or are, then Debbi and Barb are saying Gilles & Poirier are stars in order to excuse their star-fucking activities and neglect of real work. They're busy managing this totally spontaneous response to and demand for Gilles & Poirier.