Many were wondering what would happen to
Sean Rash for his profanity laced tirade (see video below) against
Jason Belmonte at the
GEICO Team Shootout recently. Even though the incident won't be shown on TV until the first weekend of July, video clips of it have made the Internet rounds, and there has been much discussion of it on this and other bowling blogs as well as bowling forums.
Belmonte even weighed in Monday with a
very strong public statement denying that he deliberately sought to distract Rash with his water bottle and expressing profound disappointment with Rash and others for impugning his character over this. Yesterday, I
posted my "blow by blow" breakdown of the incident and said what I thought about it.
Today,
the PBA announced that they're fining Rash "an undisclosed amount for conduct unbecoming a professional." Your guess is as good as mine as to how much the fine will cost Mr. Rash. I suppose I could ask him at the all-day bowling clinic I plan to attend this Saturday at
Fireside Lanes in Citrus Heights, CA, but I think I'll pass on posing that particular question to him. Perhaps you'd like to mosey on over and ask him yourself.
I will say, as I did yesterday, that I don't think Rash should be punished too severely for his outburst, but he and the other players should be strongly discouraged from future very public behavior of this kind. As for Belmo, a lot of people think he should be fined too. But for what? I still think the "Bottlegate" incidents with Brad Angelo and Rash were accidental and that, in any case, there's no proof that they were intentional. However, I think Belmo needs to be officially warned, if he hasn't been already, to keep his hands off his water bottle at crucial times during his matches with opponents, and if he fails to do this, then the PBA would be justified in imposing sanctions.
What do you think? Do you think Rash should have been fined or otherwise disciplined? If so, how much, or how? What about Belmonte?
