Olympic Skater Sasha Cohen 'Stunned' by X-Mas Flap

Reuters ^ | 12/14/06 | Dan Whitcomb

[meg88]

By Dan Whitcomb | December 14, 2006

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Olympic figure skater Sasha Cohen was "stunned" to learn that a U.S. high school choir had been ordered to stop singing Christmas carols at a holiday show because she is half-Jewish, her mother said on Thursday.

Article Tools Printer friendly E-mail to a friend Other sports RSS feed Available RSS feeds Most e-mailed Share on Facebook Save this article powered by Del.icio.us More: Sports section | Latest sports news | Globe front page | Boston.com Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts A city official accompanied by a police officer caused a stir by silencing the carols on Tuesday night as Cohen signed autographs after a performance in Riverside, California.

Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge has since apologized to the student choir, the Rubidoux High School Madrigals.

To some, the incident appeared an example of excessive political correctness in the United States over the celebration of Christmas -- which some conservative commentators have characterized as a "war on Christmas.'

Cohen, who is half-Christian and "celebrates everything" during the holidays, learned only through news reports that the choir had been cut off on her account, the 22-year-old skater's mother and manager said.

"Sasha was stunned. We both thought the voices were just lovely, they were doing such a wonderful job," Galina Cohen told Reuters. "Christmas carols are part of celebrating the holiday season."

The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper reported that the Madrigals had just launched into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" when a city special-events employee told them to stop singing.

Cohen's mother said the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and U.S. National Champion had taken part in Christmas tree lighting ceremonies at New York's Rockefeller Center and in California.

[Shqipo]

Why must my precise study of the curvatures of Sasha's derriere be interrupted by this annual tomfoolery over X=messiah that is posted on this and that FR thread every Christmas season. The Reuters reporter used Xmas to stick it to readers who took offense that CHRISTMAS carols were ordered halted at a CHRISTMAS pageant. If this same writer starts calling CHIcago Messiah-town or referring to martians from Planet-CHI, I'll concede your point. Otherwise, it is delusional to believe Christians should get a warm and blessed feeling in seeing merchants and secular types use this term to corrode a day to celebrate the birth of a Savior not popularly referred to as CHI.
--Now, back to Miss Cohen. More pictures, please.

[JusPasenThru]

I don't know if anyone has already said this. I saw Ms. Cohen at a "Heros on Ice" performance and she is beautiful. Very lovely, and of course a wonderful skater.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Half Jew.....half Christian??? What??? Is she a messianic Jew?

[Kimmers]

Now that is funny!!!!!!! LOL

[wastedyears]

5'3" with sneakers on ;)

[CaptRon]

Half-Jewish makes sense in the context of ethnicity,

Actually, I don't even see that. Judaism is a religion, not a race.

[beyond the sea]

How about a tennis player of my choice?

****

[beyond the sea]

One more tennis player. Pardon me, Andre.

****

[wastedyears]

Wowowowowow <3

[MaestroLC]

Sasha only, please. ;) You must now post TWO Sasha pix as penance. We await your contrition...

[Paleo Conservative]

How tall is she?

She's rather short.

Biography for Sasha Cohen

Birth name Alexandra Pauline Cohen

Height 5' 1½" (1.56 m)

Mini biography

Sasha Cohen was born Alexandra Cohen on 26 October 1984, in Los Angeles, California, to Roger and Galina Cohen. She was named after her mother's favorite ballerina and goes by Sasha, the Ukrainian nickname for Alexandra (she also has a younger sister named Natasha). Sasha began skating at the age of seven, and by 15 had won the silver at the U.S. National Championships. She competed in the 2002 Olympics, where she placed 4th, and has since placed 4th and the 2002 and 2003 World Championships, and won the silver at the 2004 World Championships. Sasha has also won three silver medals and a bronze at the U.S. National Championships.

[beyond the sea]

Here ... have one more of my favorite tennis players, ..... Ms. Hingis.

****

[beyond the sea]

Yoi...............!

[fnord]

href="http://www.pe.com/columns/danbernstein/stories/PE_News_Local_H_dan15.38d8041.html

that is a pretty funny column, and it explains the situation a whole lot clearer than the original article (Mr. Bernstein is evidently not a J school grad).

So Sasha glides into Riverside. She dazzles in the downtown rink and starts signing autographs just as the Rubidoux High School Madrigals break into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Right in front of the Jewish skater!

Well, of course, the city had to snuff this out. This was worse than O'Bloss gangs. This was an organized, public-school assault on a nice Jewish girl. So the cops moved in. That is, a cop and a city events person:

"Arrest ye merry madrigals, you're in a danger zone.
We cannot let you sing that song in front of Sasha Cohen."

[MaestroLC]

The Smiling Assassin.

[beyond the sea]

Along those lines:

****

:-)

[beyond the sea]

If I got any where near that position, I'd never get up off the ground.

[ichabod1]

Wawaweewa!

[MaestroLC]

I didn't come up with that about Hingis. That was her nickname on the Tennis circuit.

BTW, http://www.ultimatenzsoccer.com/b0373f40.jpg

[beyond the sea]

:-)

Cool little girl.....