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I get these calls
By djkimmel on May 29, 2009 | In Perspective, Ethics, Sportsmanship | 4 feedbacks »
Thank goodness this doesn't happen often, but I get these calls. They have a common theme and still happen too often. The last one went like this. "Hello Dan. Bob* here. Hey, I'm not super well known or anything and I didn't want to get a bad rep, but something happened to me during that last Big tournament and I need to talk to someone about it."
"I drew one of the top sticks in the event, but it didn't turn out quite like I hoped. Later in the day, this well-known, successful and popular boater started 'joking' with me about trading bass. He had a couple nice ones, but the rest were small. I had a couple nice bass too and he 'joked' that if I gave him my nice bass to weigh in with his, he'd get in the money. 'Hey... when you think about it, how would anyone know,' this well known popular angler says. 'Ha ha... we could split the money. Better than both of us getting nothing ha ha.' He says it like he's joking and of course we can't do it... but mentions again 'how would anyone ever know...'"
"It made me very uncomfortable because he kept bringing it up near the end of the day," continues Bob. "I didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell him to stop, but he's the well known, well liked boater, not me."
Bob was having some bad feelings about not reporting it to the Big tournament director because rules do state you must report any rule violation you are aware of. "But he kept saying it like he was just kidding," says Bob. "He would just tell the tournament director he was joking and I should know the difference. And he's the well known, popular boater. Who are they going to side with, him or me right?"
Some of you may say Bob should have reported it. I also wonder if some might be thinking what's the big deal. Sheesh. He was just joking.
Well, I'll tell you the big deal. WE BASS TOURNAMENT ANGLERS CANNOT AFFORD TO TOLERATE THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR BY ANYONE. Period!
Early on, I was personally in almost this same exact situation as a non-boater in a tournament. I 'chickened out' not telling the tournament director because I didn't want to start out immediately with the 'rep' as a snitch. Who does?
Only, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I know darn well - and everyone else should too - that 1) he was feeling me out to see if I could be tempted to break the rules with the 'joking' about it; 2) EVERY tournament angler MUST KNOW we cannot afford to have people like this active within our structure. Each of us better have the personal smarts to know this behavior should be zero tolerance if we value the future of our sport.
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4 comments
It was a trailered weigh-in event, so one of the few times where they allow the boater and non-boater to have any time out of sight of each other while the (usually) non-boater goes to get the trailer, leaving the boater alone in the boat.
They had not had a real good day fishing, so neither anglers had a limit. The non-boater had 2 small bass, but 1 really nice one. The boater had mostly smaller bass too.
After retrieving the boat and parking, both anglers got weigh in bags and began getting their bass out of the livewell. Only now, the non-boater had 3 small bass in his well. We're talking a teenager here, not an adult. He was distressed and did not know what to do.
How could he confront the 'adult' and ask him were he larger bass was? How could he protest during basically his first big event against a veteran boater, accusing him of taking his largest bass and weighing it in as his own? In the end, he said nothing and told his father after the weigh in. Very disappointing.
I have to wonder how anyone can live with himself doing something so low and unprofessional as this to a youngster who is just getting started? All I could say is hang in there and please believe the bad ones like this are the exception not the norm.
BD :-)
I really like the One on One series. 8 hours alone in my own boat. only one to blame if i have a bad day is me.
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