I will add one more thing about this and then call it quits. Had Rash just made the blanket comment and left it at that it wouldnt have been as big a deal. It was what he said after that and then doubled down on it during the interview with Kimberly. The facts that he said "I dont give a s..t" and then in the interview said it was going to cost him and he didnt care is what makes this 100 times worse.
If he would have mumbled something like "Figures he used a Purple Hammer" and called it quits, we would have just considered it what we already know about him and that is he is a whiner and life goes on. But the fact he used profanity again and then said he didnt care; is what made this a much bigger story. I wonder of the fine is undisclosed because it is so small its basically a slap on the wrist (maybe like his winnings for the week?). A particular scene in Happy Gilmore comes to mind when I think about this.
PGA Commish: "You will be fined $25,000 and suspended 1 month."
Shooter McGavin: "SUSPENDED!!!! Kick him off the tour."
That's why I brought up the other incidents. Holman got $2500 and 9 tournaments for breaking the light at the foul line. Burton got 6 months for hitting someone. PDW didn't hit anyone; it was only his conduct that sin binned him for a year. This is light for Rash.
But I also have to agree with TWOHAND834; I understand about the rules being the rules and that a player can request/demand a test on equipment at any time to be sure it is legal/valid. That is perfectly within their right, and I'd support that. But the fact that it has to do with urethane, and the fact that Rash has had history on his feelings about urethane, this screams more about his main focus being on someone or something else, and the lack of focus on his game. He's essentially complaining about something that for the most is beyond his control, instead of staying in his own lane and running his own race. If there was a problem, it could have been dealt with afterwards, especially if he focused on his game and won on his own merits. That would have not only kept his integrity and held his influence/capital higher, but also given him leverage for his main complaint, in which more fans could have stood behind him.
But he didn't, because he couldn't, so he spent that influence and capital. While everyone is talking about what he has said (and justifiably so), what people aren't talking about is much deeper: the fact that his mental game, especially against urethane, isn't strong. Someone talked about he was possibly trying to get into Russo's head... now, not just PBA bowlers, but
every bowler can get into Rash's head by simply putting a Pitch Black, Purple Hammer, a Tank, all three Black Widow Urethanes, and everything Faball on the ball return. That screams to me that a lack of mental game is there, especially regarding urethane, and he can't, hasn't, or doesn't want to address it.
BL.
