This entire thread has a destructive tone to it. I do not understand why AZbilliards would allow this thread to continue it seems borderline illegal here.
What it really is is that most of us would rather see Earl playing championship caliber pool without the drama. That's what I want.
I remember the first time I ever saw Earl Strickland play. Until then I had only read about him. Think about that for a moment. Back in the late 80s you could only read about players and sometimes catch them on tv but you couldn't see them anytime you wanted on demand like today.
The first time I saw him was the World Championships from Bergheim Germany where he beat Mark Wilson in the finals. Wow! What a player. Never had I seen someone just flat out attack a pool table like that. So much confidence and surety. I said that is the kind of player I want to be and set out trying to play just like him.
Then years later when I was at the US Open I watch him play the Japanese player Okumura I think. Earl was completely out of line and disrespectful and borderline racist. Every time that the Japanese player would make a good shot and get some applause Earl would turn to the crowd while the guy was still at the table and say loudly, "sure, root for the Jap and not the American". He had the whole crowd against him by that point and I am sure many of them were Earl fans like me. I was shocked and appalled to see that.
I mean I can understand getting fired up and being a serious competitor and not wanting to be "friends" with your opponent.
But I can't understand saying things that are just mean-spirited and wrong.
Many of us really do like Earl the player. We wish we had just the amount of skill that he has in his little toe, at least I do. But we are really embarrassed to see him be self-destructive and out of line to others and himself.
At least I speak for myself and I think for others here as well.
It's a bummer that he gets talked about this way. And I can certainly respect a man who stands up for his principles. I have been labeled crazy on here many times because of just that. Earl is unfortunately not only standing up for his principles he is also denigrating anyone who doesn't agree with him, loudly. That is ultimately what's destructive.