Iaconelli's Response

[Andrew Zuber]

From Mike's Webpage:



I want to publicly apologize to anyone I have offended by my actions and words during the 2006 Bassmaster Classic. I am a very passionate and emotional person. After finding all of my fish dead or dying, I handled the crisis in the wrong way. I am human, and I made a mistake. I will be sure to be more careful with my words and actions in the future.



I want to ensure everyone that my frustrations and anger were in no way purposely directed toward damaging safety equipment or degrading the American Flag. I love this country and I love everything that the flag stands for. I totally support our American troops.



By quoting the famous American president JFK, he said that "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters--one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity." In the spirit of this statement I feel it necessary to take this opportunity to speak out on two issues.



The first is the accountability and standard to by which BASS tournament officials make rulings and decisions. There are two parts to this:



First, after finding all of my fish dead or dying, I immediately called one of the official tournament directors. I was informed by a B.A.S.S. official that there was no dead fish culling rule in BASS and it was ok to cull a dead fish. Fortunately, I was able to revive all but two fish and did not have to cull a dead fish. But I later found out that they had given me the wrong information and it was indeed illegal to cull a dead fish.



Second, after being informed that I was disqualified under the sportsmanship rule, I highly disagreed with the decision. I immediately inquired about the appeals process and I was told by BASS officials that there was no appeal process to the ruling. No appeal process? So there is no way to protest a decision made by one mans opinion to a situation. The sportsmanship rule is a gray rule and I do not believe that I deserved to have my days catch disqualified. Was I the first angler ever to use profanity during an event? No. Was I even the first angler to ever damage a light pole during an event? No. Was I being made an example. Possibly, but there is no way to determine this without a formal process of appeal. In a high stakes true professional sport there needs to be a more accurate form of rules and judgments and a rational determination of those rules and judgments.



The second issue that this incident brought up is being forced to use other sponsors equipment and boats. If I was in my own boat during the 2006 Classic there is no way my fish would have died in the live well. It is amazing that in the biggest most prestigious event in the world, we are forced to use equipment and boats other than our own. Until we are able to use our own boats and equipment during all of the events we fish in, these event will never be true professional events.



In closing I'd like to thank my sponsors and fans for sticking by me. I will be looking ahead to moving forward with the rest of the season.



Mike Iaconelli

February 28th 2006


http://www.mikeiaconelli.com

 

[Mike Zechman]

Well said.........I do like when people bash BASS and sponsorship like Triton and only bein able to use there boats

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Wah wah wah:lol:

 

[TrepMan]

I guess my view, again not having seen it happen and only reading, is:



1) His point on dead fish culling - If he truly was told by a tourney director he COULD cull a dead fish, then that should not be an issue. He called for a decision and he got it, end of story, its not his fault if the director messed up.



2) His complaint on boats - Was a known rule for years, too bad- so sad- Your fault!! He's been in the Classic before.



3) The sportsmanship rule - I would agree there should be an appeal/review process, but if that is the rules, he should have known it and lived with it, and worked to change it after the fact.



Trep

 

[JR F]

They ought to get to use there own boats,,IMHO.....I didn't watch It, I don't watch it, I would rather be doing It...IKE,,,He's a Kid that's mouth Is his biggest problem..Lets move on and see how the rest of the season goes...JR

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Read my three views:lol:

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

Horse Heads

 

[Bill McElroy]

1. Why didn't all the other PRO's using the same boats, have dead fish in THEIR livewells???



2. a STATE's RULES always trump tournament rules.....in Florida, it's ILLEGAL to cull dead fish! (BASS rules state that the host State's rules always APPLY!)



We'll see how many of his sponsor's stick by him.....watch for changes on his 2007 jersey!

 

[Larry Harp]

The only part of that that I agree even a little bit with is the part about pros getting to use their own boats. First of all it's not fair to the pro's sponsor and it's not fair to the pro who may have a reason for fishing out of one brand of boat or another. HOWEVER, that's not an excuse for not turning on the livewell. In fact I remember seeing Ike throw a fish into a dry livewell in his own boat, so obviously fish care is not job 1 with Ike.



It's kind of like Bode Miller...you can win some tournements and you can get some great sponsors and you can talk a big game but what are you going to do when the pressure is really on?



Harpo

 

[JR F]

Hey Harpo,,,When the pressure is really on...BUDWEISER --- JR

 

[Mark Gross]

The bottom line here is that his little hissie fit of kicking the navigation light with the american flag attached "WAS THE REAL IACONELLI" I don't care what the heck his excuse is , it's still just that ,an excuse.



Maybe next year the Chinese can sponser him.:angry:



I personally Believe his true response was the one he gave on camara and not the cr^p that is printed above in the first two paragraphs . The rest of it is just more excuses be they justified or not.



Mark

 

[TrepMan]

Mark - You KNOW the 2 paragraphs he posted above were from his LAWYERS and Coaches, NOT from his heart!!

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

If y'all remember, you used to get to the classic via airplane, with no idea where you were going and then fished out of exact boats. How did all of those anglers do it?

I agree with Tee, WahWahWah.... Funny how all of these "unfair" things just keep happening to him. And if I'm not mistaken, didn't the film show him kicking over the side a dead fish or was I hallucinating?

I don't want to even hear about Ike anymore. I was about 75% to 25% toward not liking him and now it's 100%.



Uncle Billy

 

[Dan Sullivan]

News Flash



His response has changed a little bit..........





Updated response:



Iaconelli on 2006 Bassmaster Classic

I want to publicly apologize to anyone I have offended by my recent actions during the 2006 Bassmaster Classic. As you know, I am a very passionate person. Sometimes my emotions get the best of me and that is exactly what happened. After finding several of my fish dying, I handled this crisis in the wrong way. I wish I could take back my actions but, I am human and I made a mistake.



I want to ensure everyone that my frustrations and anger were in no way purposely directed toward damaging safety equipment or degrading the American Flag. I love this country and I love everything that the flag stands for. I am very patriotic and totally support our troops. No group more than professional anglers should feel as fortunate to live in a country that provides opportunity for so many to chase their dream.



By quoting the famous American President John F. Kennedy, "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters--one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity." In the spirit of this statement, I ask for the forgiveness from my fans, peers, sponsors and all others who may have been offended by my actions.



This has been an unfortunate incident and I regret what I did. When things like this happen you have to learn from your mistakes, keep fishing and move forward. This is what I intend to do and hope you will move forward with me.

 

[JR F]

It's over and so Is he.... But even his loud mouth,He could catch fish..and from jersey????? Well,he'll pay the price and It's a shame he wasn't talked to before..espn loved the antics he provided before he crossed the line.....Now he will probably drift away,,,,It's a shame he was a good fisherman(like me)..HEE HEE JR

 

[Dan Sullivan]

..and from jersey?????

 

[JR F]

well jersy has love lake or whatever?????? HEE HEE

 

[Dan Sullivan]

well jersy has love lake or whatever??????

OK, that's way over my head ........and I'm 6'4".

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

Jersey had a NJ Bass Federation member make it to the Classic this year and last year, and I'm not talking about Ike.

 

[Bill McElroy]

I guess I spoke prematurely,...we'll see what changes are made to his 2006 jersey for the rest of THIS season!!

 

[JR F]

Hey Guy's I was just kidding......At least New Jersey has some lakes...Indiana has some places that they let water collect In the summer.....JR

 

[Texas Transplant]

There are two big tournament circuits. In both, you use the 'host boats' in the finals. Nuff said about that.



I don't think the American Flag is part of this whole discussion. It just happened to be on the light pole.



I agree with him, that some type of appeals process should be in place. Probably wouldn't do that much (similar to NASCAR's appeal process), but they should have the option.



ESPN/BASS somewhat created the monster known as Mike Ike, now they are trying to control the monster. Never works.



Tex

 

[Herndonpro]

This is from bassfan.com



Ranger dropped him like a hot potato.



Ranger drops Ike 2/28/2006

Ranger Boats has dropped its sponsorship of Mike Iaconelli based on his behavior at the recent Bassmaster Classic. Here's the statement from Ranger president Randy Hopper.



"Based on a series of events that occurred during the recent Bassmaster Classic competition, Ranger Boats is withdrawing its sponsorship and affiliation with Mike Iaconelli. We do not believe that Mike's conduct during the tournament appropriately represents the deep-seated values on which our company was built and continues to operate.



"Ranger further acknowledges Iaconelli's impressive angling achievements as well as his commitment to promoting the sport of fishing. His efforts to encourage others through the platform of fishing are a credit to his many accomplishments. While we regret his actions leading to this decision, we wish Mike well in future ventures."



> During day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic, Berkley issued a statement stating Iaconelli would remain a Berkley pro-staff member. BassFan is awaiting comment from Iaconelli's other sponsors.

 

[Steve Hutson]

Ike's getting exactly what he deserves. I hate that his sponsors are dropping him, but we all have to reap the rewards of our decisions.



1. Any apology that starts with "If I have offended anyone" is not an apology. This refers to his first apology after the incident.



2.He has been in the finals of the BASS Classic and the flw championship. Both tours use sponsor boats in their finals and championships. He's ran a Triton before, so that arguement is bust. At least the flw uses Rangers. I do think that the anglers should be able to use their own boats, but they know the rules going in.



3. While I kind of agree with Ike about an appeal process, he knew that there was none before he started fishing BASS. No need to cry about it now. The flw tour has no appeal process either, to the best of my knowledge.



Texas Transplant, I normally agree with most everything you post, I must respectfully dis- agree about the American Flag point that you raised. He had to have known it was attached to the light pole. Just the fact that it was on the pole and he threw it into the lake makes it part of the discussion. Do I think that Ike is un American or did it on purpose? No, I think it was simply a stupid mistake that he is now paying for. I think that you are 100% right, ESPN created this IKE/ bad boy personna, now he has to reap the rewards.



This is coming from someone that used to kind of like Ike.



Steve

 

[Mark Gross]

I have nothing to do today .So thing I 'll just take a few hours and e-mail all of Ike's sponsers and tell them that I cannot in good faith by products from any supplier or manufacture that would support such un-sportman like behavior to say nothing of his filthy langauge.



Do I really want to introduce my children to a sport were such curseing and uncontroled violance is supported by the very sport we are trying to promote.



Mr.Iacoelli needs to be humbled and I have yet to see that happen.:huh:



Congrat's to RANGER who reacted promply FLWoods did the right thing.





Mark