"I watched it a half dozen times to compare frontside to backside, rights to lefts. I think it was a fair result."
Just as the heat started to simmer on the Surf Ranch Pro imbroglio where WSL judges were accused of ineptitude, bias and, by swarms of Brazilian surf fans, racism, after Gabriel Medina’s loss to Ethan Ewing in his quarter-final and Italo Ferreira in the final against Colapinto, Kelly Slater has weighed into the fray.
To recap, read “Australian surfer Ethan Ewing threatened with death following controversial win”, “Gabriel Medina pens open letter to WSL complaining of ‘shocking’ judging” and “Pro surfing in chaos as its biggest stars turn on WSL and CEO Erik Logan”.
“With anything subjective, you’re going to have errors. If something is even close, how do you objectively say for sure something was a rip off or crime? But to say (a result) is a rip off or a crime, that bothers me – claiming it’s a crime (that Medina lost). I thought Ethan beat Gabriel. I rewatched the heat a few times. Other people (I trust) watched it, who are very in the know. I won’t name any names, but they thought Ethan won the heat. His best ride was definitely his right. That’s not to say anything against Gabe. I thought he was awesome and he has definitely been the best guy out there. I didn’t pay attention to the live heat, but I was surprised to hear he had lost. I watched it a half dozen times to compare frontside to backside, rights to lefts. I think it was a fair result. I’m not sure about Italo and Griff’s heat. I haven’t looked at it as closely. People said that Ethan’s air (against Medina) wasn’t as good and I was like, ‘what are you talking about?’ To land on the nose, get it around in that section. That’s extremely difficult.”
Kelly also hinted at an exit from the tour in 2025, aged fifty three.
“Yeah, I definitely want to surf this year, then next,” he said. “It’s an Olympic year and I want to see if I can make the team. I haven’t made any formal announcement or anything but if I surf this year, then next, I think that’ll probably be good. I’ve done enough. But who knows? I could win one of these next few events and just feel like, ‘that’s it, that’s enough, I’m good.’”
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Slater now embraces Trumpspeak; ‘many many people have come to me and said…’
Kelly can eat my shorts for not having the ballz to say what is right. He knows Griff got pushed through but he doesn’t have the ballz to call out the WSL. Sad really. No HamSammish!!!!!
Remove those two LL’s and we have one slippery slope. Look – saying it was a ‘crime’ is just hyperbole, sort of like claiming that you know 1000’s of people who had adverse effects/died from the covid vax. But the GOAT has spoken on that in which he is one of the world’s foremost experts. If he says Ethan won, then Ethan won, EOS.
Ha ha slater is correct. Ethan 💯 won that heat. Through all the Brazilian whinging Ethan’s surfing has gone under the radar here slightly. His turns were bloody huge and explosive and then he threw the tail for variety
Yep totally agree – I thought his backhand was underscored.
yeah right he hasn’t watched the final, but watched gabs heat over and over….why would he only watch Gabs vs Ethan…??
Got one for ya, Brutus.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
fucking classic you just made my day, going to do an Insta,LOL!!
Slater the narcissist megalomaniac!
we build where ladders can’t reach…seawalls r’ us…
https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx….
Leave it to slater to white wash everything with one of his who cares interviews without any mention of the FINAL HEAT or the REAL CONTROVERY/ ROBBERY… Lol of course not!!
Italo had a reason to be bent and not be cool with that Final. Medina is just a whiney bitch.
must not watch tv! a distiller in every neighborhood. Shakira, too/
Coca Colapinto v Italio is the heat of contention. Gabe v EE, heaps closer.
“Outspoken” Kelly wouldn’t touch that one.
rope-a-dope
Why are we talking about Kelly?
He was cut. No more two years from now unless you grind re qualifying which gives him an excuse not to marry yet.
But he was cut. CUT CUT CUT. Goodbye legendary cunt. Go suck up into Instagramworld.
Cut the rope, send him adrift to his own ego.
You guys know that you can never call him GOAT enough for him to be satisfied.
But the world was spared of his narcissism because he FAILED TO QUALIFY.
It happened organically with poor performances, thanks for the memories.
Reason 2,549 why to hate the WSL.
The turtle neck sandal aka the shoe
Kelly hatin’ on Gabby… nothing new.
Hmm, these guys have been slowly leaning and pushing everyone towards The Inertia for weeks if not months.
Next headline-BeachGrit sold to The Inertia!
Negro College Fund…
or a rep from each of Harvard or Berkeley or Stanford or National Lampoon’s board…wouldn’t have woked.
https://media1.giphy.com/me…
I was almost five weeks free but that Replay Experience button followed me around the internet
zweo tolerance vs oreos politics…
Well that was predictable.
Word on the street is that sea turtle workers at KLLY are so hopped up on blow that the straws are fusing to their nostrils.
whose got the meat? soup! campell’s noodles/geish(a) girls…love Bex a longtom~KLLY for turtle sandal use code…COD/
I just don’t know anymore. What has surfing become. I loved this sport so much, now I want to punch Elo in the dick. I want sniper rifle down any pro who does a backhand windscreen wiper.
How has surfing progressed yet regressed simultaneously?
It follows western culture
Surfing is just fine. This is a tennis league of cunty inclusion, and emotion….
Its so bad Kelly cant even watch it.
I like turtles!
Slater should be a turtle for Halloween.
Griff should be Italo for Halloween.
Funny you should say that. I made this earlier today
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
looks similar now
I mean the best turtle ever.
What about their land relatives?
Everytime I see a tortoise in makes me want to buy some chapstick.
I like Michelangelo the most
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Taste like chicken
yeay I love turtle soup before my Koala bear Burger!
Like I commented on JP’s last open letter where JP put the onus on ELo to provide evidence to refute Gabby and Italo and Flippy’s calls: ELo doesn’t need to provide shit. The onus is always on the accuser to provide evidence of a crime/wrongdoing/cheating etc. That’s the whole foundation of “innocent until proven guilty.”
Gabby et al were whining about the result, nothing more. If they want to make accusations of bias, cheating, unfair subjectivity etc, then have some fucking proof. The fact that many others, including Slater here, have defended EE and said it wasn’t as clear-cut as all the Brazilians would have us believe tells you there’s no evidence of cheating.
And Gabby et al haven’t provided anything except for some wah wah woos why did I lose…
Yep, spot on, apart from the footage, theres no evidence
Pffft, WTF does that Slater bloke know, anyway?! Damn anti-vaxxer.
“I thought Ethan beat Gabriel. I rewatched the heat a few times. Other
people (I trust) watched it, who are very in the know. I won’t name any
names, but they thought Ethan won the heat.”
Go read Steve Shearer’s take over at swell.net
But the side-by-side footage?
too good. then i/m not ready for meta either. side effects? oh yeah. dizziness.
footage is out there. everyone rode the exact same wave, yet criteria was all over the place.
Incomplete rides getting 8s… Complete rides that included 3 airs, getting 7s.
nothing weird about that, right?
yeah footage is out there. The same footage Slater said he watched in the article above. The same footage he watched many times and came to the same conclusion – EE won. Point being, it’s a subjective sport.
Some thought Gabe won, others thought EE won. I reckon Slater’s a pretty good judge of surfing, don’t you? Regardless, if Gabe, Felipe, or any person on tour including Aussies, Hawaiians etc want to accuse the WSL of cheating, then they gotta bring some evidence to the table. They didn’t. All they brought was some wah wah wah to Instagram.
Saying “look at the footage” doesn’t cut it, coz Slater did (as per this article) and said EE won. Just coz you don’t like it, or Gabby doesn’t like it, or the nation of Brazil doesn’t like it, that doesn’t make it cheating or bias.
I’m pretty sure WSL owns Slater and therefore Slater will back the WSL… the WSL has been doing slater favors for years now. About time he paid them back
I believe Kelly sold the pool to the WSL, so I’m pretty sure they don’t “own” Kelly. Probs the exact opposite if you consider the power he has over and within the organisation.
Plus the megamillions the WSL paid for his pool…
The WSL doesnt own Kelly and neither the opposite, however, the 2 have clearly been in bed together for quite some time now, no secret there….the guy has the nerves to say he has not seen the final heat and you think thats honest? Please.
No, of course not. But nowhere in this thread I started have I mentioned the final. I’ve specifically referred to the Gabby/EE heat all the way through, which is where the hooplah started after Gabby’s Insta post.
Of course Kelly’s Watched the final and he’s being cute (or a devious cunt) but the fact he’s strong in his opinion about the EE/Gabby result and less forward with the final just tells me he’s confident in his views in one and not the other.
Hence my original point – the Gabby/EE heat was close. Gabby has no evidence of cheating. Some saw it one way, others a different way.
yeah, Slater the most unbiased guy ever, lol…
Slater, who hates Gabby and pretty much every Brazilian on tour.
Slater, who didn’t make the cut yet he’s still there…
go back to selling your sandals, Kelly.