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2006 Winter Olympics

It's might makes right for Shani

By GARY SHELTON
Published February 19, 2006

TURIN, Italy - Halfway across the world, a black kid is buying a pair of skates. Perhaps this time, he will not be called an Oreo because of it.

Somewhere in America, the kid is talking about wearing tights. Perhaps now, his friends will not be asked if he is a figure skater.

Back home in Chicago, the child says he wants to be a speed skater. After this, perhaps the tough kids in the neighborhood will not chase him through the streets because of it.

Shani Davis changed things Saturday night. He flashed around an oval, outdistancing pressure and perceptions and controversy and, of course, a building full of skaters. Barely more than a minute later, Davis had invited the world to take a fresh look at his race, at his sport and, perhaps, at his reputation.

This is a story about color, about a black man and a gold medal and the stubborn questions of how red, white and blue his heart happens to be. It is also a reminder that looking out for No. 1 is fine as long as that is where an athlete manages to finish.

Davis, 23, became the first African-American athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport in Winter Olympic history, and just like that, he redefined a great many things. Just like that, he was historic. He was impressive. He was a champion.

In victory, why, Davis was an American. You could tell by the music they played when he stood on the podium. the Star-Spangled Banner, I think they call it.

Just like that, a man was justified. In a finger-snap of a sport, that quarter of a second between winning and losing re-invented Davis.

He won, so he was right. Had he lost, he would have been wrong.

He won, so he was smart. Had he lost, he would have been selfish.

He won, so he was focused. Had he lost, he would have been unpatriotic.

Got it?

Such was the burden that followed Davis around the oval. For most of the week, since Davis announced he wanted no part of the team pursuit race, he has been accused of being ungracious and self-centered. And let's be honest: Had he lost this race, the wolves would have feasted on his reputation.

Ah, but Davis won, and just like that, he was admirable all over again. He was misunderstood. He was just saving himself, that's all.

This is the way we view winning, isn't it? Put gold around your neck, and people stop suggesting there is a chip on your shoulder. All those nasty things people were saying about you? They are lost in the glitter.

Here's the thing, though. Davis didn't change with this race. Only the perceptions of him.

Is Davis self-centered? Of course he is. What world-class athlete in an individual sport isn't? Davis is a different cut of athlete, one who prefers to train away from his teammates, to stay on a different floor, to travel in a different circle. And nothing is wrong with that.

Could Davis have skated in the pursuit? Of course he could have. Even Eric Heiden suggested as much. But why should he? Davis wanted a gold medal in the 1,000-meter race, and he was convinced that taking part in the relay would have hurt his chances. Hey, it's an individual sport; Davis isn't over here to fulfill Chad Hedrick's dreams.

Are teammates going to sign Davis' yearbook? Probably not. Casey FitzRandolph suggested that if Davis feels that it is him against the world, well, it was Davis who pitted himself there. Asked if he was pleased to see Davis win, Hedrick responded: "I'm happy for Joey (Cheek, the silver medalist)."

Is Davis a heck of a skater? You betcha. And perhaps the same qualities that separate him from the pack off the ice also separate him on it. After all, if Davis was concerned with fitting in with the crowd, he wouldn't even have been in this sport.

His idols were Michael Jordan and Walter Payton, standard issue icons for a kid in Chicago. But when he would skate fast enough, his mother would give him quarters for the video games. When his mother took a job in a legal firm, she worked for a man whose son was a speed skater.

Soon, Davis was competing, and even though his friends gave him grief about a sport none of them understood, he stuck with it. Even then, he loved the 1,000-meter race, the event that gave him time to get his speed going. Someday, he told his friends, he was going to win the 1,000 meters at the Olympics.

That, Davis said, was why he skipped the pursuit. Also, he said, he thought other skaters should get their chances to compete.

"I chose to focus on what I do well," Davis said. "This is once every four years. There is no telling if you will ever have the opportunity you do now because there is always someone else coming up. I've been pointing at this since I was 6.

"It's kind of a conflict of interest (to race in the pursuit). I'll say this 100 times. After 2002 when I went to the Olympics and didn't partake in anything, I told myself I would never, ever take anyone else's opportunity to skate in the Olympics if I had things that were going on myself. I was true to my word."

For days, however, Davis has been heavily criticized. Even on his Web site, Davis points out, there are racial slurs and ill wishes.

If his race is to be an issue, however, perhaps it can be a positive one. Perhaps his victory will be viewed as a breakthrough.

"I would say it would be if this sport were bigger and more recognized by minorities," Davis said. "Since it isn't ... it's still a breakthrough, but it's what people make of it. If people in American are excited and thrilled to have a black champion in speed skating, I'm happy that I can make people happy."

And if he makes Hedrick's undershorts creep up a little? If he makes FitzRandolph look as if he has tasted something sour?

You get the feeling that's okay with Davis, too.

[Last modified February 19, 2006, 01:09:21]