Both Al and Manny had to know well prior to the match. John French is taking all the heat (He deserves his share although it appears he had very little to do with the DO vs Ko match) and AL and Manny ain't saying diddly!
IMHO Al and Manny have severely tarnished their reputations and I doubt I will buy any PPV they are associated with unless they come forward and tell their side of the story rather than burying their head in the sand waiting for the debacle to go away.
Wedge
I do not agree that Manny and Al have any accountability here. Their role is to bring content of general interest to the public and not to investigate the finances that underlie any event. These are two guys who do an enormous amount for pool and both have, by every reasonable measurement, been great for our sport, making many sacrifices along the way.
The assumption that they were in on what has proven to be some deception is unfair to two guys who've proven their value and loyalty to their sport over and over. The suggestion that their silence somehow makes them accomplices in this regrettable bit of trickery is, in my opinion, ridiculous. I don't doubt for a moment that they were among those who were lied to by the organizers of the Ko/Orcullo match and that their motives did not extend beyond bringing a high quality match to pool enthusiasts.