Dear Fran, thanks for your contributions to this thread and your opinion on what I should have done other than what I did do. As you can see none of that will change now after the fact. Bottom line is that Barry fired me for not going along with his plan to get ALLEN into the tournament and rather than beg his forgiveness I quit.
I first knew this was coming at 7:30 Sunday morning (the first day of the tournament) when I got a text from Barry telling me that I had to put Allen in the tournament. After I responded that I couldn't do that since we had already done the draw the night before and posted it, he persisted in making more texts which became increasingly hostile and profane. I then called Allen in his room at 8 AM and told him that he could not get into the tournament, even though Barry had made an oversight in leaving his name off the list of past champions. The issue as to why this happened was between Barry and Allen! Allen said that he understood and that he didn't care if he played or not. I thought the problem had been solved.
How wrong I was! Barry went into hyper-drive about getting Allen into the field by hook or crook. He began exploring ways to find a player (any player) who would withdraw and give Allen his spot. He went so far as to post a notice to this effect by the tournament chart at mid day. I continued to go about my business as TD, hoping that no one would go along with this scheme of Barry's.
It has never been easy to run this event (I returned home sick last year) and this year I was left to pretty much shoulder it on my own. There was no Ken Shuman (a previous Barry fire), no Bill Stock, no John Leyman to help with the myriad tasks involved in making this event run smoothly. I had only Karl Kantrowitz to assist me as a referee, a good man but not the co-director that I needed. I was left to do the work of three men. It's not as simple as "just showing up" as you so innocently described it here. In fact I prepare for several weeks to do this job, communicating with Barry and Pat to make sure things are in order.
So on the first day of the event (after having done the players meeting and draw the evening before) I was faced with running a very difficult tournament on my own and dealing with an out of control promoter who was breathing down my neck asking me to bend my ethics to cover up his failures. I refused!
Unbeknown to me Barry had found a candidate who was willing to withdraw from the tournament for a nice settlement (more than his entry fee!). It may have helped him to make that decision knowing he was facing Warren Kiamco in the first round. So during the dinner break Barry had one of his workers white out the name of the player and write in Allen Hopkins name. I found this out when I returned from a quick dinner. No one was willing to do this while I was around! Barry then left a message on my phone saying I was fired. I continued to work the rest of the night (until after 1 AM) posting up the results, officiating the matches and scheduling the next two days of matches on the tournament board.
Barry never showed his face or spoke to me in person after his nefarious plan was enacted. He knew how I felt about it. I think you get the gist of what was at stake here from all the posters who understand what integrity is. I could have stayed (once again begging the forgiveness of Lord Barry) and just compromised my principles and tacitly condoned what had gone on, leaving my ethics at the door.
For me Fran, it was a Sophie's Choice. I couldn't win either way. If I stay I'm part of what went on and if I leave I deserted my post. I did my best to prepare Scott (our emcee) to take over in my absence, leaving him all the materials I use to run things. The man that I brought in to assist me (Bobby Chamberlain) was willing to stay and help out, even though Barry at first wanted him off my team. Barry needed Bobby now so he switched course and asked him to stay on.
I talked with several players that night and told them what had happened (none of them agreed with Barry and what he did) and that in good conscience I could not stay as TD. Whatever authority I had was now gone and Barry could continue to do things his way, right or wrong. Pat Fleming also asked me to stay, and he tried to rectify things and get Allen to not play. Unsuccessfully I might add.
I couldn't sleep that night, knowing what was ahead. The combination of Barry's abusive texts, feeling totally exhausted after only one day and then being asked to look the other way while the tournament board was compromised was a little more than I could bear. Unless you were in my shoes Fran you wouldn't have any idea what I was going through. It may have been the hardest decision I've ever made as a TD to accept Barry's firing and leave, but for me it was the right one to make. And I would do it again under similar circumstances.
I flew home the next day (on Monday) and slept good on the long flight back to California. I woke up with no self doubts, knowing that I had done the right thing, and in the end that's what matters most to me. Not how people feel about what I did, but how I feel about what I did. To thine own self be true and I was!
Just remember...without Barry there would be no US Open.
Big tournaments have come and gone but Barry keeps on going on every year.
If you don't like it, start your own tournament and see how it goes.
I can't believe all the cry babies on this forum...people that don't even play
in the US Open just want to cry about something:crying:.
,
Jay, I'll be the first to ask you - do you see any scenario possible in which you would return as TD next year or any other subsequent years? I do applaud you for standing up for what you believe right.
Barry is being Barry.
He can, does and will make all calls. Right or wrong.
It's his business (event).
Jay did the right thing here.
You don't walk out in the middle of a major event. Nobody would have blamed Jay for staying. NOBODY. In fact, it's the opposite.
Barry was used to maintaining control of the roster, and this time it was different. If you've ever done something the same way for decades and then suddenly you're doing it differently, you're bound to make a mistake or forget something.
You're all trying to turn this into a cheating event. It's not. You can take as many polls here as you want but I know a lot of people in our industry who don't post here and what they're saying, and I happen to agree with them. So, the fact that Barry was able to come up with $70,000 (or whatever that figure was), wasn't good enough for you? I don't know about you all, but I'm impressed. I didn't think he could do it. But that's not good enough for you all. In your eyes he's still a criminal because he forgot to add Allen Hopkins to the roster and tried to fix the problem. Seriously? Get down off your high horses and get real and commend the guy for what he was able to do here instead of beating him to the ground. Instead you're applauding the TD who didn't have to sweat and toil and beg to get this event done. He just had so show up, and if necessary, do damage control, and he even failed at that.
There were possible solutions to be explored. None of those possibilities were even discussed because Jay walked out.
No, not as long as BB is the promoter.
Fran, hugs and kisses right back at-cha but you are off base about what happened at The Open. Jay was hired to be the TD, not a flunky to twist and bend to BB's whims.
Lou Figueroa
Just remember...without Barry there would be no US Open.
Big tournaments have come and gone but Barry keeps on going on every year.
If you don't like it, start your own tournament and see how it goes.
I can't believe all the cry babies on this forum...people that don't even play
in the US Open just want to cry about something:crying:.
,
Thanks, Lou. That's very interesting, though. The story continues to change. In Jay's first explanation, he gave Barry notice that he was leaving. In a later explanation, he was fired. That's the first I've ever heard of someone giving notice when they're fired.
The event went on without a hitch without Jay. I guess they all managed to survive very well and as far as I have heard from my sources on the scene, no one there was crying foul except for some posters here.
I have not been a fan of Barry's for several years because of the money situation at that event. I applaud him this year for coming through. Rome wasn't built in a day. He's making progress, and I say good for him.
Fran, I'm sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations. I'll try to do better next time.
haha! great answer
Thanks, Lou. That's very interesting, though. The story continues to change. In Jay's first explanation, he gave Barry notice that he was leaving. In a later explanation, he was fired. That's the first I've ever heard of someone giving notice when they're fired.
The event went on without a hitch without Jay. I guess they all managed to survive very well and as far as I have heard from my sources on the scene, no one there was crying foul except for some posters here.
I have not been a fan of Barry's for several years because of the money situation at that event. I applaud him this year for coming through. Rome wasn't built in a day. He's making progress, and I say good for him.
Thanks, Lou. That's very interesting, though. The story continues to change. In Jay's first explanation, he gave Barry notice that he was leaving. In a later explanation, he was fired. That's the first I've ever heard of someone giving notice when they're fired.
The event went on without a hitch without Jay. I guess they all managed to survive very well and as far as I have heard from my sources on the scene, no one there was crying foul except for some posters here.
I have not been a fan of Barry's for several years because of the money situation at that event. I applaud him this year for coming through. Rome wasn't built in a day. He's making progress, and I say good for him.
The event went on without a hitch without Jay. I guess they all managed to survive very well and as far as I have heard from my sources on the scene, no one there was crying foul except for some posters here.
I have not been a fan of Barry's for several years because of the money situation at that event. I applaud him this year for coming through. Rome wasn't built in a day. He's making progress, and I say good for him.
It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.