ESPN WSOP Featured Table
Yet again, I’m blogging via WordPress iPhone app so this will have errors.
Thank you, Jonathan E
pstein for making the WSOP Ladies Event final table. Thank you for putting money into the prize pool that many women slid into their pockets. And, let’s be really honest, thank you for perhaps giving the ladies bracelet a little more respect than it’s had in previous years.
Before any women get their panties in a wad, let me assure you, I think it’s rather rude and attention seeking for men to enter the ladies event. Yet, it doesn’t bother me if men enter, as I gladly welcome the competition and better value. Furthermore, it makes me laugh and I like laughing.
What DOES bother me is humiliating humans publicly. Embarrassing a man in a poker tournament is no more acceptable than men doing the same to women. It’s a double standard. There isn’t any excuse for players, media and spectators to be rude, lewd and condescending. Stamping the word “Ladies” on something doesn’t justify poor manners. I support speaking up and speaking out but it can easily be done with some creative integrity. If you think I’m supporting Epstein’s right to play, th
en you’re missing the message.
Humiliating someone publicly simply because we don’t agree with their personal decision is an unjustified word fight. Last time I checked, billions of dollars were being spent on therapy for words that weren’t even supposed to hurt in the first place. We’re all entitled to our opinions and beliefs but voicing them at the cost of someone else is downright mean. More importantly, it deteriorates sportsmanship in the game of poker. Not to mention creating division within the poker community. So ask yourself, are you promoting good sportsmanship and elevating the image of poker as a whole? Or are you looking out for your own interest?
Times are hard, life is short and I promise… there are those who regret making fun of Brandi Hawbaker. So get over yourself and play nice.
Thank you, Joe.
I can only speak from my personal experience, as I did play in the ladies event. I haven’t seen PokerNews’ coverage on this particular issue or many others for that matter.
I wrote about this last year and will continue to do so until people can respect the game regardless of personal differences.
Excellent post.
I wish we didn’t live in a world where you didn’t need to specify that men couldn’t enter a tournament which thousands of women travel across the world specifically to play against other women but apparently we do. Perhaps the argument that ‘it can be very intimidating to play against men’ doesn’t hold too much water, but what is the real opportunity cost to a grinder to play something else that day (yes, even if it is the softest $1k in the series).
What this situation has really taught us is that if it’s true that pokernews was fabricating stories and the rio floor staff were letting spectators berate men in the field (both only stories on twoplustwo at the moment as far as I know so unconfirmed) then they should both be ashamed. The floor staff should not be allowed to pick and choose who they let be abused by the rail, it’s an absurd slippery slope. As for pokernews, it seems they’re trying their best to ruin any shred of journalistic integrity they ever had.
I do agree. I wrote something similar to today’s post last year as well.
Thanks for the comment, Bob.
It sounds as if you might agree with what I wrote when this same kind of behavior occurred last year:
“As has also been reported everywhere, upon every elimination of a male player, the female players let out a collective cheer. This was not–repeat, not–the polite “good game” applause that one hears from the audience when a player exits a final table. No, this had an unmistakable flavor of “Get the hell out of here and don’t ever come back.”
This behavior shows that men have no monopoly on being jackasses and poor sports. Perhaps it is wrong and offensive for these men to have entered the event, but that doesn’t make it OK to vocalize your glee at their elimination. As my mother liked to remind me ad nauseum, two wrongs don’t make a right.
If you object to a male entering the tournament and sitting at your table, I think you are within your rights to basically snub him socially–don’t humor him, don’t chat with him, don’t interact more than is minimally required to keep the game moving. Cold shoulders from eight women at a table might make him rethink whether this is an action he wants to repeat. I consider that a socially acceptable form of expressing your opinion about his choice.
If you feel like being more direct, you can even start the day by telling him something like this: “I think your entering this tournament is like urinating in the punch bowl of a party that you weren’t invited to. I resent you being here, and I hope you will think better of entering any other such event in the future.” Then snub him. Nothing wrong with that, as long as you’re calm and civil in your tone and choice of words.
But if you want to claim the moral high ground in this controversy, you have to keep your reaction to the situation classy. Cheering an opponent’s loss completely fails that simple test.”
http://pokergrump.blogspot.com/2010/06/womens-event-at-wsop.html