No one here has ever sampled any "illegal" substances? No one here ever took someone else's prescription pain killers? Never broke any of man's or God's laws? Carried concealed weapons without a permit?
If Sigel had a problem with cocaine, I think the best thing to say is that he's lucky it didn't cause him to completely ruin his life or his health. Those days, it was everywhere, and possibly more widely accepted than now—the "Party Drug" of choice. I knew many people who tried to dance with "The Lady" and couldn't let go.
With regard to Sigel and the IPT...
It was a horrendous burn on the pool community, although I don't feel it was intentional. Someone always gets hurt when businesses don't pan out as anticipated, but I think Ol' K.T. gave it a pretty good go for a while. I was really pulling for the whole thing to succeed, and I think most concerned pool players were as well. I am truly disappointed that it failed, and I think a lot of observers are shifting that disappointment to anger. I hear about some players getting checks, I hope that continues. Unfortunately, there were many dashed hopes, lost monies, and other negative effects that cannot ever be made right.
There is no doubt that K.T. is a self-promoting hustler, and he was doing this as much or more for himself as for "pool", but who cares? The point is that the IPT could possibly have worked, and if it had, the pool players of the world wouldn't give a damn about his shortcomings in other areas, or what strings he had to pull in order to make it happen, as long as it kept happening. That's human nature, and it's playing out predictably. How many players refused to enter the first qualifiers and events because they had moral issues with K.T.?
How many high-ranking members of the armed forces do you see expressing negative opinions to the press about this war?
Mike Sigel was doing his part as a loyal soldier and advisor. Whether or not he is also a co-conspirator is yet to be seen - I don't know anything about his relationship with KT. It's not Sigel's place to do any differently now.
Ken
"Cocaine is a helluva drug"
—Rick James