All the President's Men was, of course, about The Washington Post but close enough.
All the President's Men was, of course, about The Washington Post but close enough.

World’s most influential surf website utilized in savage takedown of Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Kelly Slater by august New York Times!

Pulitzer in the mail.

But is there any new source as powerful, as important as The New York Times? The answer, obviously, no. The Gray Lady, serious and sober minded, gently guides its public into all manner of truth and and the way to properly think about this or that. Indispensable. But that reputation, burnished to a fine sheen, has not been won overnight. The writing has to be flawless, research impeccable and sources above reproach.

I suppose, then, there is no surprise that the world’s most influential surf website was utilized in a fair and balanced piece gently titled “Robert Kennedy Jr., With Musk, Pushes Right-Wing Ideas and Misinformation.”

A sampling:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a scion of one of the country’s most famous Democratic families, on Monday dived into the full embrace of a host of conservative figures who eagerly promoted his long-shot primary challenge to President Biden.

For more than two hours, Mr. Kennedy participated in an online audio chat on Twitter with the platform’s increasingly rightward-leaning chief executive, Elon Musk. They engaged in a friendly back-and-forth with the likes of Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman turned right-wing commentator; a top donor to Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida; and a professional surfer who became a prominent voice casting doubt on coronavirus vaccines.

The “professional surfer who became a prominent voice casting doubt on coronavirus vaccines” bit highlighted and hyperlinked to Derek Rielly’s seminal piece “History’s most decorated surfer Kelly Slater reignites vaccine mandate debate with most explosive social media post yet, ‘I could voice a lot about hypocrisy and lies from our media and politicians…'” in which Rielly quoted Slater as commenting on Instagram, “Maybe Stockholm Syndrome can now change its name to Melbourne/Australia Syndrome. It’s sad to see the celebrated division by the ‘virtuous; vaccinated. If you’re vaccinated why are you concerned/worried about anyone else’s status… unless, of course, it doesn’t protect you? Or you’re scared you’ll catch it or upset you had to take the risk of vaccination yourself? So much brainwashed hatred in people’s hearts regardless of vax status.”

Sensible.

The New York Times, in any case, without allowing an editorial position to seep out, declared Mr. Kennedy “repeated a host of false claims,” including that Democrats were getting more money from pharma than Republicans, Covid being a bioweapons problem and psychiatric drug use tied the rise of gun violence in the United States.

Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s chat was listened to by more than 60,000 people, during its peak, and I’m still trying to sort out if Slater actually called in?

Tweeted in?

I don’t know. Who cares.


Tyler Wright hospitalised for debilitating period pain three days before Surf Ranch Pro, “Pain that would lead to passing out, vomiting and hours on the toilet”

“Competing after those three days of being mostly bedridden and unable to eat was the harsh reality of navigating my period.”

A little over one week ago, the two-time world champ Tyler Wright surrendered her yellow tour leader’s jersey to Carissa Moore after falling in the first round at the Surf Ranch Pro. Wright’s performance lacked her usual fizz, sword drawn but feebly waved.

Now, the twenty-nine-year-old Australian has taken to Instagram to explain the reason for her dulled  performance, revealing she was hospitalised for three days prior to getting into the famous Kelly Slater-designed pool. 

“It’s hard when you put so much work into something, you feel great and then you have a period so horrible it hospitalises you 3 days out from an event,” she wrote. “Competing after those 3 days of being mostly bedridden and unable to eat was the harsh reality of navigating my period while meeting requirements in my professional career. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tyler Wright (@tylerwright)

“At times it’s deflating physically and emotionally, feeling like you have no say in it. Managing my period has been a journey. I’ve come along way from my teen years, not even knowing it wasn’t normal to suffer monthly excruciating pain that would lead to passing out, vomiting and hours on the toilet. These days my period management looks like a customised training program based around the 4 menstrual stages, listening and planning carefully for what my body needs – even if that means less time practicing in the water before comps, prioritising sleep and recovery leading up to my period and being aware this is the time I am at highest risk of injury. 

“At this stage in my life I am also heavily reliant on painkillers while I menstruate. They aren’t ideal but my other option is to have surgery to try find and fix the reason for these debilitating periods. The surgery isn’t a guaranteed solution and I would have to take time off from competing as well as rebuilding.”

Last month, after finishing seventeenth in Portugal, Wright revealed she was “no longer leaving home without her psychologist or her wife again.” 

Wright, who won her first big event at fourteen and two consecutive world titles at twenty-two and twenty-three, told the Sydney Morning Herald, “I’m the only queer person on tour, so my wife is the only other queer person I know most of the time. I love everyone around me but she makes such a difference in a way only she really can.”


World Surf League turns greenwashing dial up to eleven while celebrating World Ocean Day: “We Like Turtles!”

Saving the earth one fib at a time!

Per the press release:

This World Ocean Day and every day, the World Surf League (WSL) and its WSL One Ocean initiative are committed to protecting and preserving our one ocean for generations to come.

WSL One Ocean engages fans, hosts event-based activations throughout the WSL Championship Tour season, and funds ocean protection around the world through the WSL PURE Grant Program. WSL is an early signatory to the recently announced Sports for Nature Declaration, pledging to deliver transformative nature-positive action by 2030 and beyond.

WSL Asks Fans to “Speak Up for the Ocean” By Sharing Sustainability Stories

To celebrate World Ocean Day on June 8, WSL One Ocean is launching its “Speak Up for the Ocean” campaign. This campaign asks fans to share their stories and sustainability initiatives through social media with the hashtag #WSLOneOcean. The WSL will use its platform to amplify the voices of people around the world who are taking action to protect our ocean and encourage others to do the same, with the goal of building a community of surfers, fans and ocean lovers around the world who are aligned with protecting our one ocean

To learn more, please visit WSLOneOcean.org.

And/or.

To the WSL community,

I want to address the conversation that happened in our community following the recent Championship Tour event at the Surf Ranch. As you likely know, a small number of athletes made statements questioning the judging of the competition and the final results.

I want to respond directly to those statements, however, we first need to address a much more important issue. In recent days, a number of surfers, WSL judges, and employees have been subject to harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence, including death threats, as a direct result of those statements. Those things should never happen in our sport or any sport, and we’re devastated that members of our community have been subject to them. It is an important reminder to us all that words have consequences. We hope the entire WSL community stands with us in rejecting all forms of harassment and intimidation.

In terms of the statements made, we completely reject the suggestion that the judging of our competitions is in any way unfair or biased. These claims are not supported by any evidence.

Firstly, the judging criteria are provided to the athletes ahead of each competition. All athletes competing at the Surf Ranch Pro received these materials on May 20th. Every athlete had the opportunity to ask questions about the criteria at that time. None of the athletes who made these statements took advantage of this opportunity at the Surf Ranch Pro.

Secondly, our rules allow any athlete to review the scoring of any wave, with the judges, and receive a more detailed explanation of how they were scored with the judges. This process has been in place for a number of years, and is the direct result of working with the surfers to bring more transparency to the judging process. It is not acceptable, and is a breach of league policy, for surfers to choose not to engage with the proper process and instead air grievances on social media.

A number of athletes at the Surf Ranch Pro received points for elements such as progression and variety, so it is simply incorrect to suggest these are not taken into account in the judging criteria. Furthermore, our rules have been applied consistently throughout the season, including at events this season that were won by athletes who are now questioning those same rules.

Surfing is an ever-evolving, subjective sport and we welcome a robust debate around the progression of our sport and the criteria used to judge our competitions. However, it is unacceptable for any athlete to question the integrity of our judges who, like our surfers, are elite professionals.

No one person or group of people are above the integrity of the sport.

Sincerely,
Erik Logan
WSL Chief Executive Officer


Kelly and Gabriel, talking turkey and, inset, death threat to Ethan Ewing after his controversial win. | Photo: @tsherms/Steve Sherman

In bombshell interview, Kelly Slater sides with judges in Surf Ranch Pro imbroglio, “To say it is a rip off or a crime, that bothers me… Ethan beat Gabriel. Other people (I trust) watched it (and) thought Ethan won the heat”

"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”. 

In an interview with The Inertia mostly concerning Kelly’s new environmental turtle sandals the KLLY, talk turned, briefly, to the fracas, 

“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.’”


Open Thread: Comment Live as John John Florence, Filipe Toledo and other stars paddle day six of the ISA World Surfing Games!

The stars have come out to shine!