Tatsuki Machida's sudden retirement at the Japan nationals in Nagano last week came as a shock to just about everybody.
In the ensuing days, there has been a lot of conjecture about his motivations and the timing of his announcement.
No matter how you slice it, however, the move was a very selfish one.
Why do I say this?
Because he apparently informed nobody in advance, including the Japan Skating Federation, of his intentions, and he not only walked out on his teammates in the middle of the season, but he showed them up in what should have been a glorious moment.
As the JSF presented the skaters for the worlds and Four Continents to the fans on hand at Big Hat and a live national television audience following the women's free skate last Sunday night, the last thing anybody expected was for somebody to pull a stunt like this.
It was disrespectful to his fellow skaters, as this was a time when the crowd was given a chance to collectively salute them for their achievements at the nationals.
Women's champion Satoko Miyahara and second-place finisher Rika Hongo were out on the ice enjoying the fruits of their hard work this season and for many years. To see it spoiled by a grandstand move by Machida was very regrettable.
The 24-year-old Machida told the audience he was enrolling in the graduate program for sports science at Waseda University and moving on to the next path in his life. That is all well and good, but the manner in which he chose to do it was very poor.
What Machida did was very un-Japanese. We hear so much about the importance of wa (harmony) in this country, but I don't see that in Machida's actions as he has clearly put himself before his teammates.
What do I mean?
Japan was counting on Machida this season at the worlds in Shanghai to assure that it retains its three spots for the men at the 2016 worlds in Boston. To do this Japan must have its top two finishers be a combined 13th or better.
Now you can say that even if Machida doesn't go to the worlds, Japan should still have no problem locking up the three slots for the next year.
But what if Olympic and world champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who underwent surgery on Tuesday, is unable to return this season?
With Takahiko Kozuka, Takahito Mura (Machida's designated replacement for the worlds) and Daisuke Murakami (who would take Hanyu's place if he is unable to participate), Japan's chances for retaining its three places aren't as certain.
The announcement that Hanyu would not be skating in the Exhibition Gala on Monday was made early Sunday afternoon, hours before Machida revealed his retirement. It was obvious from the statement released that Hanyu may have a problem that could require him to be off the ice for a period of time.
Yet Machida still went ahead and quit without any thought of the consequences for his teammates. Some will say it was his right to do whatever he wanted, but the bottom line is that if he was contemplating this, he should have not skated competitively at all this season.
By retiring now,the Kanagawa native has also ruled himself out of the season-ending World Team Trophy in Tokyo in March. To some this competition is a meaningless endeavor that really serves no point, but Japan is hosting it after the worlds, so it is certain to draw sellout crowds and receive prominent exposure on television here.
Machida's skating last season was outstanding and inspiring. He finished second behind Hanyu at both the worlds and the nationals, and was fifth at the Sochi Olympics. He spoke at the time about how he felt he was in the twilight of his career, and seemed poised to end it on an up note.
The sad reality is that for all of the talent that he had and was able to display in the past year, many will remember him most for the narcissistic maneuver he chose to employ while several of his fellow skaters were basking in the finest hours of their careers.
Bare minimum: Covering the nationals outside of Tokyo turned out to be challenging for Ice Time and the rest of the assembled media in Nagano last week. Let's just say the JSF didn't go out of its way to accommodate those who made the trek to the city that hosted the 1998 Olympics.
There was no press room available on Thursday, when the skaters answered questions following practice. When the press room opened on Friday, there was no food or television in it, which meant there was no way to watch replays during the competition.
There wasn't even a press conference until late Sunday night, after the teams for the worlds and Four Continents had been announced. It didn't make for the most conducive atmosphere for obtaining comments and insights from the skaters.
Because this was a domestic event, the JSF could get by with only providing the minimum for the media, something that it would not be allowed to do at an international event. But at the end of 2014, some 16 years after the Nagano Games and with Japanese skaters having been among the best in the world for many years, I found it unacceptable.
Surely the JSF has the resources to do better. Why it refuses to is a question that needs answering.
Delayed debut: Two-time world champion Miki Ando, who announced last month that she was in a relationship with Spanish skater Javier Fernandez, published a nice photo of herself and her new beau, along with her 20-month-old daughter Himawari, on Instagram on New Year's Day.
"A Happy New Year 2015," read a message in both English and Japanese with a picture of the smiling couple. "Thank you for such warm support last year. It was a year full of success. In skating and in life!!! We hope to see and meet more people in this New Year and we wish happiness and good health to everyone!!!"
It was signed, "With a lot of love. Miki & Javi & Himawari."
While the greeting was nothing unusual at this time of year, what was is the fact that for the first time since announcing she had become a single mother last year, Ando revealed her daughter's face.
In previous photo posts to Twitter and Instagram, she had always concealed Himawari's face, which only fueled speculation about who the child's father is. In this photo, Ando's daughter appears to be purely Japanese.
While whether she is or isn't is irrelevant, the hope here was that this coming out would help Miki and Himawari lead a normal and happy life going forward without any reservations.
Hours later though, in a disturbing development, Ando wrote another message requesting that people refrain from posting abusive comments about her in regards to the photo.
It is a sad commentary on the society that we are living in today that Ando was forced to defend herself for being honest.
