Nikko LoCastro intimidating a PDGA official at European Open '22

[nothinbuttree]

His action was determined as a Class A offense.
From the PDGA policy:

Class A Offenses. Class A offenses are the most serious category, and generally involve actual harm to other players. Physical battery, sexual assault, credible threats of imminent harm to another player, stalking, and intimidation are among potential Class A offenses. Class A offenses carry a standard penalty of a 24-month suspension followed by twelve months of probation. Aggravating factors may lead the Committee to consider penalties up to or including a permanent ban. Mitigating factors may lead the Committee to consider lesser penalties.

So...IF his penalty is being called a Class A offense, why 9 months instead of 24? Hard to see any mitigating factors that would be in his favor...

 

[davetherocketguy]

I get the impression he hates the PDGA which is pretty rich considering the PDGA is the means by which Mr McBeth was able to buy a McClaren. And I do not buy this nonsense argument that the official did this or that wrong. That's irrelevant. Does not justify Nikkos behavior at all. Paul just sounds like a tool in this post.

 

[seedlings]

Are you able to copy and paste it here, for those who don't insta-tweet-book?

Yeah. I have Instagram and can't find anything on Paul's page. I also don't understand the mechanics of Instagram… so…

Edit: I read the above and still can't navigate to it myself… fail

 

[roblee]

So...IF his penalty is being called a Class A offense, why 9 months instead of 24? Hard to see any mitigating factors that would be in his favor...

it's on the disciplinary page as an A so confirmed. We will not know the details of the penalty decision per policy and privacy concerns. Very proper. Speculation of the mitigating factors for the penalty reduction? Maybe his self imposed time out? That was the right thing to do and smart.

 

[nothinbuttree]

I get the impression he hates the PDGA which is pretty rich considering the PDGA is the means by which Mr McBeth was able to buy a McClaren. And I do not buy this nonsense argument that the official did this or that wrong. That's irrelevant. Does not justify Nikkos behavior at all. Paul just sounds like a tool in this post.

Agree--Pauls' take makes one wonder if he even watched the video?? Surprised he is defending Nikko and basically accusing the ref of instigating this crap. Maybe he is afraid some TD will come after him for questioning a call?

 

[roblee]

The idea that the official was "staring him down"? It would seem reckless to turn your back to someone who acted like that.

 

[davetherocketguy]

The idea that the official was "staring him down"? It would seem reckless to turn your back to someone who acted like that.

Wish I could hit the "Nice" button more than once here

 

[coupe]

Nikko should have hung with Robo more; I had a lot of run-ins with the Gateway crowd back in the day but I have not a single bad thing to say about Robo. Just have to throw that in; don't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

Wait … whut? Did you just call Robo a baby?

 

[art_vandelay]

I'm a little surprised by Paul's take. I was under the impression that Paul has worked very hard to raise the professionalism of the game. i.e. The way he dresses, the way he carries himself, his branding all seem high end. So why back something that was so obviously unprofessional? I'm a bit confused, but I'm sure he has reasons.

 

[ChrisWoj]

Just as a note - Nikko barely touches tournament golf November-December-January. This is a 6 month suspension for all practical purposes.

 

[blake833]

Yeah. I have Instagram and can't find anything on Paul's page. I also don't understand the mechanics of Instagram… so…

Edit: I read the above and still can't navigate to it myself… fail

haha, yeah, i had similar difficulties and am so glad someone else posted screenshots before i just transcribed it myself

 

[Riverdog]

And I do not buy this nonsense argument that the official did this or that wrong. That's irrelevant. Does not justify Nikkos behavior at all. Paul just sounds like a tool in this post.

Yup, tool he is. Ahh, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. He sounds like a tool in this post. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[thethrill]

Yes Paul, stared him down because Nikko might lunge at the official. Which is what he practically did.

 

[AHagglund]

"I understand we can't absolve Josh completely here, but it's flat-out wrong to suggest it was 100% his fault and force him to take 100% of the blame. The other guy could have just as easily gotten out of the way (dodging either left or right would have worked!) but instead chose to stand directly in the line of fire. As a professional athlete, Josh is under a considerable amount of stress, and maneuvering a van that size is tricky even in normal circumstances.
And four years in prison? For a first-time offender who has never run over anyone before? The California Justice Department is--as usual-- overreacting. I hope Josh appeals."

-Paul McBeth regarding the Josh Anthon incident, probably.

 

[Countchunkula]

I get the impression he hates the PDGA which is pretty rich considering the PDGA is the means by which Mr McBeth was able to buy a McClaren. And I do not buy this nonsense argument that the official did this or that wrong. That's irrelevant. Does not justify Nikkos behavior at all. Paul just sounds like a tool in this post.

Thanks for posting the screen shots. Yeah, that's a ridiculous take. I can't see how you could watch that video and come to the conclusions he did about the official's behavior. Unless he had made up his mind before he saw the video.

Not saying pdga officials should carry themselves with the self importance of some mlb umpires, but sounds like Paul expects them to only speak when spoken to and be totally deferential to the players. Even when one of the players crosses over from acting like a spoiled child to something much worse.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I get the impression he hates the PDGA which is pretty rich considering the PDGA is the means by which Mr McBeth was able to buy a McClaren. And I do not buy this nonsense argument that the official did this or that wrong. That's irrelevant. Does not justify Nikkos behavior at all. Paul just sounds like a tool in this post.

I wasn't there, and McBeth seems like a pretty reasonable person, but...

Seems like we watched the same sequence of events, and (to put it mildly) have two completely different interpretations of what transpired.

I'm specifically commenting about his take in the first 4 points he made, vs how I would have described the same sequence.

It would have been easy (maybe even smart) for Paul to not say anything, so kudos to him for speaking his mind. But I just can't agree with his take.

 

[Hampstead]

Hopefully 9 months is enough time for a new Nikko to be born.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Thanks for posting the screen shots. Yeah, that's a ridiculous take. I can't see how you could watch that video and come to the conclusions he did about the official's behavior. Unless he had made up his mind before he saw the video.

Not saying pdga officials should carry themselves with the self importance of some mlb umpires, but sounds like Paul expects them to only speak when spoken to and be totally deferential to the players. Even when one of the players crosses over from acting like a spoiled child to something much worse.

Plus I'd like to add that it seems a lot of pros seem to forget or ignore is a lot of these officials are volunteers. One of the buzz-words being tossed around is the official should have done more to "De-escalate" the situation. Are you kidding? You really expect a tournament official in a fringe sport who is unpaid to have some formal training in de-escalation?

Paul, YOU'RE the pro here not the official. YOU'RE the one making copious amounts of money off of their hard work. The least you do is show some freaking respect.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Paul, YOU'RE the pro here not the official. YOU'RE the one making copious amounts of money off of their hard work. The least you do is show some freaking respect.

This.
Insert touring pro of your choice in place of Paul. Bottom line is they're the Pros.

1) Act like one.
2)React like one.

If this is what officials can look forward to, good luck finding people to volunteer to officiate.

 

[davetherocketguy]

This.
Insert touring pro of your choice in place of Paul. Bottom line is they're the Pros.

1) Act like one.
2)React like one.

If this is what officials can look forward to, good luck finding people to volunteer to officiate.

And another post I wish I could hit the nice button more than once