Apparently thats the news, and if is happens, that SUCKS! I dont have the link but its from the Union Tribune: Rhiannon Tanaka walked into the Spirit offices last week and dropped this bombshell: She's retiring at age 26 "to get on with my life." YIKES!
Darnit!!! Well, as the song goes: "She's Gone". Here is the U-T article by Mark Zeigler. http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/mon/sports/news_1s3spirit.html
Followup This morning's Union-Tribune has this short piece in it. The newspapers website does not. Spirit defender finally calls, says she won't play by Mark Zeigler After missing the first two days of training camp, defender Rhiannon Tanaka finally called the San Diego Spirit to say she won't be playing this season. Tanaka told Spirit head coach Omid Namazi last night that she's retiring from the WUSA, meaning a team already thin on defenders now is *really* thing on defenders. Tanaka, 27, was a regular in her two seasons with the Spirit, but told the team less than two weeks ago that she "wants to get on with my lif." The Spirit convinced her to reconsider, and Namazi said Tanaka promised her to give him an answer by Sunday. She called last night. "We're very disappointed in her," said Aaron Heifitz, the Spirit's director of communications and player personnel. "If she doesn't want to play any more, that's fine. I certainly can respect that. But by letting us know so close to the season, she let a lot of people down."
SD & Heifitz may be disappointed, but Tanaka has already made her decision two weeks ago. No question about it; Tanaka's decision screwed up SD's player personnel moves - protecting someone who eventually retires, trading Kraus, etc. No disrespect to Tanaka, but c'mon, she's just one body. Last time I looked, eleven take the field. If Heifitz's blurb were accurate, it shows poor judgment on someone who's supposed to be director of communications and player personnel. Bite your tongue, turn the other cheek. Most importantly, move on. The world didn't end on Tanaka's retirement. Griping over what Tanaka did or didn't do doesn't do justice to what other players in the roster can contribute to her retiring. Time to take Heifitz to pasture & elevate Greene.
Actually, if the WUSA teams communications and personell were anywhere near decent, i think most retirements would be known well before the draft...saving the league embarassment and the coaches bald spot growth...this isnt the only team that had a major botch revolving players moving on.
It seems like Tanaka announced her retirement after the draft, and after the roster reduction. Unless SD had a crystal ball & knew about Tanaka's plans, they could have done things differently in draft-day moves
Perhaps she could have told them earlier than the draft; but we don't really know the reason(s) she retired when she did (other than what was published). Shoot, half of last year's S.D. team is gone. Also - it's hard for me to feel sorry for the team. Imagine teams telling players "don't bother moving all your stuff back for the season 'cause we're gonna trade, waive or dump you BEFORE the season anyway." RIGHT, that'll be a cold day in hell. The fact S.D. is left with so few defenders is their own fault. They were gonna be short anyway with Fawcett going off. It was short sighted by them.
True. Why is it that when clubs waive & release players, they attribute that as a business decision. It really doesn't matter much to them the level of disappointment the players feel about that decision. However, when a player decides to leave on her own terms, she's labeled as a disappointment. It's simplistic yes, but that's how it is. SD, maybe it's just Heifitz, needs to wake up & realize it's a two-way street.
Ditto, SCCL and Cachundo! Look what happened to Kester ... S.D. is not above troublesome player personnel/business decisions. Face it, business is business, and no one owes anyone anything. Go with our blessings, Rhi. Have a happy life! : )
she should have figured it out before draft day, etc. if this is what was her on her mind. she should have at least hinted to management that this was on her mind so management could have prepared. yes, the spirit have been underprepared all along in their back line. but, e.g., we might not have dropped Fan and instead dropped what's her name (hte other chinese player). personal lives are always more important than professional lives, in the end, and i'm sure Tanaka had good reasons for moving on with her life. i support her totally in that. but she should have at least warned the Spirit earlier that this was a possibility. i don't blame the Spirit for saying they are "disappointed". that's cause they are, and have every right to be. but life goes on, and i'm sure we'll pick up someone off waivers from somewhere to at least fill in the hole. and try to win every game 4-3 or 5-4!!!
Maybe she didn't figure it out before draft day, maybe she just DID figure it out. It's easy for us who want the team to prosper to be a little bitter, but none of us really knows what goes on behind the scenes of a team and what her considerations may have been.
>i don't blame the Spirit for saying they are "disappointed." that's cause they are, and have every right to be. – Flashman I just think that Spirit "management" shouldn't be so public with its "disappointment." Not cool, extremely unprofessional. They got caught with their "defensive" pants down, and they're trying to cover their butts (as if Rhi, not the coaches and/or the GM, has brought down SD's "house of cards" defense). They should wish her well and move on ... "sad [or disappointed] to see her go, but optimistic" they will find an adequate [or good] replacement via the waiver pool. What does being negative in this case serve?!
Teams have to plan for contingencies. Tanaka retiring on the third day of training camp is really no different than if she had suffered a season-ending injury on the third day of camp. Now they're caught short on defense and will have to figure out how to plug the gap. If they don't have a backup plan, even if it's just always being ready to identify players that can fill holes should the need arise, it's the team's own fault, and the blame should not be laid elsewhere. Say Tanaka did blow out her knee - would the club then have said they were "disappointed" that she didn't avoid the divot on the pitch? I think not.
Dude, just like Heifitz, you don't seem to get it. If I were SD, I would be disappointed with the timing of Tanaka's decision. Note: TIMING. Note: Her Decision. However, as I read what Heifitz's been quoted as saying, it seems to me that he blames her personally, NOT her decision, and certainly more than just the timing of her decision. Again, if I were SD, I would be disappointed with the timing of Tanaka's decision. However, it seems like the organization has already found a scapegoat if they start out flat. But the organization has to move on. In a management position, certainly one who speaks for the whole organization, it's one thing to speak your mind. It's another thing to sound insensitive, politically incorrect, and flat-out foolish. The difference between one and the other is that thing called diplomacy. Something every communications director should know about. When will the resident insider post, and put a different spin on this PR gaffe by his boss? Kudos to Zeigler for the interview.
from someone who knows. many tears and much heartache were a part of this decision. it was not reached easily. many factors entered into it. rhi loves the game, and the spirit! she has a tremendous amount of respect for her team mates, and the entire spirit organization. mentioned in the article was the out of proportion wage scale. imagine trying to maintain 2 residences on that salary,,, and knowing that those sitting on the bench are making in some cases double that! the way the league was set up they did not expect anyone from the local try outs to be as successful as rhi. therefore there were no provisions for bringing her salary into line with the others who were starters. it is no ones fault, just reality. there comes a point where one has to face reality. to spend every cent you make to maintain residence in a different city is not easy. and most importantly she was accepted into school. which was a major part of this decision. i am sure you will see her at many games, maybe even filling in when joy is gone. and for the record she met with them before they waived the last few defenders.
From the 3/5/03 North County Times: Tanaka's retirement leaves Spirit scrambling BRIAN HIRO Staff Writer
I know for myself, I was disappointed that she retired, but I called her to wish her well and for her to be happy in her life. And the organization as a whole does feel the same way about her making the right decisions for herself. Being a spokesperson can be real hard. It is tough sometimes to hide your individual feelings and when almost everything you say can be used against you or your organization, it can be difficult. WE are looking forward to 2003 and having a good year on and off the field. After two seasons of not meeting expectations, sometimes the wrong thought might come out at the wrong time. Just a little note.
From the 3/6 San Diego Union Tribune: Spirit adjusts after Tanaka loss By Mark Zeigler UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER