Jay Helfert resigned as Tourney Director at the US Open

So whats the story for Darren Appleton coming late and appropriately getting a forfeit in the first round? I saw someone post somewhere that Jeremy Jones was never even registered for the event.

So is this another Barry scheme to make sure Appleton gets to still play in the tourney even though he had to come late from 14.1???????????????????
 
lfigueroa said:
Tough call, Jay. I applaud you for taking a principled though painful stand.

Lou Figueroa
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Not a tough call at all. What Jay did was 100% the correct thing to do. Everyone but Barry knows this is true. Barry needs to be put out to pasture. Give him his piece wood with his name on it, and kick him to the curb. He is without a doubt, the worst person to promote a cub scout event, let alone a pool tournament.

This whole US Open thing is laughable, and has been for years. Jay did his absolute best, just like he always does, and Barry intentionally shit on him.

The guy I feel sorry for is Alan more than anyone.
 
jay helfert said:
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.

All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.

I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen. It turns out that Barry and Allan made a back room deal that if Allan brings a plaque honoring Barry's 40 years, he will get a spot in the Open. None of this was ever conveyed to Pat or myself. Barry neglected to mention this "deal" to either of us. It must have slipped his mind (or what there is left of it).

I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.

The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens that I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.

Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.

I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.
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You made a great decision , Jay
Pool world needs more people like you


Neil said:
If you are committing a crime, and you are the get-a-way driver, you are held just as culpable as the person that did the actual crime.

If you associate yourself with wrong-doing, then you are just as culpable as those that did the wrong-doing. You can't just say "He did it, it wasn't me". Jay did the right thing. If the players were hurt by Jay leaving, that also is on Barry as Barry forced Jay to leave.
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++1
It is shocking that some folk suggest that Jay hang around to babysit the players. :D
 
Neil said:
If you are committing a crime, and you are the get-a-way driver, you are held just as culpable as the person that did the actual crime.

If you associate yourself with wrong-doing, then you are just as culpable as those that did the wrong-doing. You can't just say "He did it, it wasn't me". Jay did the right thing. If the players were hurt by Jay leaving, that also is on Barry as Barry forced Jay to leave.
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Then according to you, all of the players should be held just as culpable since they stayed in the event and allowed it to continue.

I agree that it was an extremely difficult situation, but abandoning the players was not the answer.
 
FranCrimi said:
I'll give it to you straight, Jay.

When you walk out on a major tournament like that to save your reputation, you are hurting all the players you leave behind. If Barry wanted to make the change, you should have told him that you're against it and he would have to make it himself. Then you just tell all the players that it wasn't you who made the change and although you wanted to leave, you didn't want to walk out on them.

Everybody knows how Barry is and they wouldn't have held it against you. The players needed you and your expertise in running the event. You not only walked out on Barry, but you walked out on them as well.

And THAT is my east coast attitude, Bill Meacham.
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Fran, it's time to cut bait. Jay has been thru the Barry situation waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than you or I....from his perspective, he's RIGHT. He's dealing with a man child ''on something''. I say this long overdue....conviction, seeing as I know of his past and his companions.

Sometimes in life, drastic actions must take place to create Change. Like that gal in class being dragged out by an officer from class....tho I know it's wrong....one MUST learn in life, there always comes a price for ones good or bad actions.

Heck, when I was in third grade causing a classroom disturbance. The teacher/lady quietly took me outside of class, grabbed me by the throat, lifted me off the ground and told me to ''not do that again''. I learned long ago, ''don't do that'' :).

Barry :bow-down: is a man child, on too many stimulants....therefore we get what we get till his situation is rehabbed............:outtahere
 
FranCrimi said:
Then according to you, all of the players should be held just as culpable since they stayed in the event and allowed it to continue.

I agree that it was an extremely difficult situation, but abandoning the players was not the answer.
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Not at all Fran. The players were there to play, they aren't running the tournament.
 
FranCrimi said:
I'll give it to you straight, Jay.

When you walk out on a major tournament like that to save your reputation, you are hurting all the players you leave behind. If Barry wanted to make the change, you should have told him that you're against it and he would have to make it himself. Then you just tell all the players that it wasn't you who made the change and although you wanted to leave, you didn't want to walk out on them.

Everybody knows how Barry is and they wouldn't have held it against you. The players needed you and your expertise in running the event. You not only walked out on Barry, but you walked out on them as well.

And THAT is my east coast attitude, Bill Meacham.
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I'm a little surprised to see this.

Agree or disagree with his choice. But characterizing Jay taking a tough principled stance as acting in his own self interest is unfair.

What should have happened--even with Barry being Barry--is there should have been lots of profane text messages, some back-stage yelling, some bringing up old wounds and creating new ones, and then the TD should have the final decision on something as central to running a tournament as whether the field should change at this stage.

If in the end that decision was not the TD's to make, the puppet TD has no real choice but to cut the strings and fall to the floor.
 
FranCrimi said:
I'll give it to you straight, Jay.

When you walk out on a major tournament like that to save your reputation, you are hurting all the players you leave behind. If Barry wanted to make the change, you should have told him that you're against it and he would have to make it himself. Then you just tell all the players that it wasn't you who made the change and although you wanted to leave, you didn't want to walk out on them.

Everybody knows how Barry is and they wouldn't have held it against you. The players needed you and your expertise in running the event. You not only walked out on Barry, but you walked out on them as well.

And THAT is my east coast attitude, Bill Meacham.
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With all the crap this little coke-head has pulled over the years, you claim Jay let the players down? Thats rich. St. Louis attitude.
 
JAM said:
Have you spoken to Allen?

Let's just say there's three sides to the story, as always. :wink:
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He was not on the players list, brackets were up and his name wasnt on there. Jay told him what was going on. Someone who paid and was on the bracket is erased, allen is in. Im confused to say the least. Guys like Barry, Buddy hall, and now maybe Allen are the reason for no big sponsors and vegas betting in pro pool.
 
FranCrimi said:
I'll give it to you straight, Jay.

When you walk out on a major tournament like that to save your reputation, you are hurting all the players you leave behind. If Barry wanted to make the change, you should have told him that you're against it and he would have to make it himself. Then you just tell all the players that it wasn't you who made the change and although you wanted to leave, you didn't want to walk out on them.

Everybody knows how Barry is and they wouldn't have held it against you. The players needed you and your expertise in running the event. You not only walked out on Barry, but you walked out on them as well.

And THAT is my east coast attitude, Bill Meacham.
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I think by staying, that's the easy way out. It's easy to tell people "it wasn't me", it's easy to stay and point the finger at someone else. It's easy to say "that's not what I wanted but my hands are tied."

IMO, Jay made the correct decision which was much tougher than giving people lip service.
 
Here's what it sounds like to me:

Alan was probably promised a spot. Barry probably forgot to tell Pat and Pat continued to collect entries until the field was filled.

Alan drives down to the event expecting to play and Barry is embarrassed by his gaff. He tries to fix his error by asking for a volunteer to drop out and to pay that person a certain amount for doing so.

I've seen situations in top pro level events where a player was accidentally left off the roster. They figured out a way to let the player play by having someone play an extra match. The other players in the event were told the situation. Of course, they weren't happy but they understood that these things happen, and agreed to draw numbers to see who would play the extra match.

Honest mistakes happen and if nobody panics or gets on their high horse threatening to walk out, they can fix the problem with a little logical thinking.
 
FranCrimi said:
Here's what it sounds like to me:

Alan was probably promised a spot. Barry probably forgot to tell Pat and Pat continued to collect entries until the field was filled.

Alan drives down to the event expecting to play and Barry is embarrassed by his gaff. He tries to fix his error by asking for a volunteer to drop out and to pay that person a certain amount for doing so.

I've seen situations in top pro level events where a player was accidentally left off the roster. They figured out a way to let the player play by having someone play an extra match. The other players in the event were told the situation. Of course, they weren't happy but they understood that these things happen, and agreed to draw numbers to see who would play the extra match.

Honest mistakes happen and if nobody panics or gets on their high horse threatening to walk out, they can fix the problem with a little logical thinking.
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I agree. Also, let's not forget that Allen Hopkins is a former U.S. Open Champion. His name *not* being on the list is questionable. All U.S. Open Champions are afforded a spot on the list. Allen's name should have been on that list.
 
FranCrimi said:
Honest mistakes happen and if nobody panics or gets on their high horse threatening to walk out, they can fix the problem with a little logical thinking.
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Even if that is what happened due to Barry's boo boo, Jay as TD has final say. The brackets already locked in concrete . Allen was also ok after Jay explained to him
What is ridiculous is that you make Jay sound like the lesser guy for walking out.
 
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