In rapid fashion, All In Magazine’s editorial staff and the writer of an article for the magazine and website have issued a vehement apology regarding their coverage of a tournament and, in particular, one of the poker world’s up-and-coming competitors.
While some may not like it, the original problem was discovered by poker professional Allen Kessler, who trained his eyes on the subject over both his Twitter and Facebook outlets. The article in question, a tournament wrap-up focusing on the 2014 World Poker Tour Five Diamond World Poker Classic from the February issue of the magazine, was written by James Foley and, under normal circumstances, might have escaped notice were it not for the internet version. Once he eyed the story, Kessler stated that it was a “horrible ‘joke’” by the writer and All In Magazine, calling for an apology and the termination of the writer.
It is well-known that there are some slang terms in the poker world that some might consider offensive (‘The San Francisco Waiter’ comes to mind), but Foley chose to utilize two of those slang terms at an inopportune time. Writing about the heads up match between eventual champion Mohsin Charania and runner up Garrett Greer (also one of the WPT’s “Ones To Watch” for this past season), Foley mentioned how Greer was “left the most crippled player at a final table since Dan Harrington and his neck brace” after a hand and that Greer gave himself the “chip and a chair” speech prior to losing the battle to Charania. Foley also utilized a term this writer has used over the many years – “adding insult to injury” – in discussing Greer’s situation on the table.
The problem with these jokes? Greer uses a wheelchair to get around since an accident several years ago took away his ability to walk.
The angry response from many in the poker community was almost immediately felt. Instead of firing Foley (as Kessler had suggested), poker pro Matt Salsberg believed that the editor, Eric Raskin, should face the chopping block. “(The) writer should be reprimanded, but whoever green lights this to print is the one who should get axed,” Salsberg wrote. Salsberg also commented that, if the editor of the magazine and the writer of the article were truly unaware of Greer’s history, they should be fired on that account alone. Others such as Pratyush Buddiga, Zo Karim and Matt Stout also made their opinions known.
Sensing the firestorm growing, the editors of All In Magazine attempted to squelch the flames from their Twitter account at first. “We were unaware of Garrett’s condition…just an awful coincidence,” one of their first Tweets stated. “As editor, I didn’t know and my writer swears he didn’t either (writer’s note: this is despite several photos in the poker media of Greer in his wheelchair). We all feel awful.” Once this failed to appease the people, Raskin took to the digital pages of All In Magazine for an official apology and retraction of the story.
After setting up the situation, Raskin stated in the article that “every word printed…is ultimately my responsibility. I am not going to make excuses. I recognize how awful this looks and how rightfully offended he (Greer) and others were. All I can say is that the offensive material’s connection to its subject was purely coincidental and not the result of any malicious intent.”
Raskin also brought the writer, Foley, in to issue his own apology on the subject. “I made what I thought was a snarky joke about a short-stacked player and used the term ‘crippled’ to describe his chip condition after losing a pot (Foley didn’t address the other attempts at humor),” Foley wrote. “As a freelance writer who doesn’t cover poker full-time, I am often unfamiliar with the players and rely on second-hand reports. It was to my absolute horror when I learned (about Greer’s condition)…I am deeply ashamed and embarrassed that my ignorance and lack of research… (turned) Greer’s circumstances into a cheap punch line. I sincerely apologize to Garrett Greer and anyone else who was offended.”
Raskin comes back after Foley’s apology to discuss a few more issues and admit a cruel factor of today’s tournament poker world. “To those who have read the article and believe the jokes to be intentional, I understand why it would appear that way. All I can do is insist that is not the case,” Raskin wrote. As a final mea culpa, Raskin admitted, “Neither James (Foley) nor I covered the event in person.” As a final ending, Raskin stated that the article had been removed from the All In website and that there was ‘discussion’ regarding a charitable donation in Greer’s honor.
For his part, Greer was mostly silent on the issue. In the discussion on Kessler’s Twitter feed, he replied to Raskin, Salsberg and Kessler, stating, “I believe you, but I don’t believe your writer.” Other than some other discussion with fellow pros, Greer hasn’t responded further to All In Magazine or the writer.
All In Magazine knew they were making fun of a handicapped person. If you follow the twitter conversation between All In and Greer, they expected Greer to back down by challenging him with “Is there a factual error?” and then admitting it was a joke. They knew he was in a chair.
Unfortunately, the people at All In have no moral compass and will lie for attention. For example, look at their Super Bowl party where they claimed George Clooney, Phil Ivey, John Elway, and Chris Moneymaker would attend. NONE of them were there.
The writer and editor should have been fired. But, All In wants these morally repugnant people in their company.
Poker pros should ignore the All In Reporters at events; everyone should avoid their parties and all sponsors should find better places to advertise.