When playing pool politics means forgoing income that would otherwise accrue to oneself or one's family, who are we to tell pro players to do so? Pool pros are not WNT employees, but instead outside contractors making a fairly modest income and it should not be expected of them.
Each player must make his own decisions regarding event participation, and as far as I'm concerned, they can change their mind every day if they like. It is not incumbent on any player to ride the favored political winds. Event participation decisions are often made at the last minute, and that's not likely to change anytime soon.
I certainly respect and admire Sky and all the WNT pros who choose to forgo income opportunities to try to make a stand in favor of other pros, but expecting all pool players to act as a single unit in any matter is unrealistic and maybe even unprecedented.
There are two sides to this coin, and I'm tired of the holier-than-thou types that want to brand some players as disloyal. The players are forced to juggle their loyalties between event producers, federations, and sponsors and each is faced with a slightly different challenge. Predator sponsored players like Ouschan and Filler have the toughest decisions to make given that Predator is so tightly tied to WPA.
Let's have a little compassion for the players, who continue to be pawns in the dirty politics of others in our less-than-united sport.
matchroompool.com
