As Slowtwitch readers know, Kona's current Lottery program is gone, the likely result of an intervention by triathletes. I wrote a pair of articles about this, and I'm reasonably comfortable overall with both. These articles were criticized by some, and I read the criticism as I always do. One comment came from TriEqual president Sara Gross, who objected to my conflation of her organization with, if you will, Lotterygate. I answered her on our reader forum, opining expansively (always a risk). I painted a picture in that answer that turns out, upon reflection, to be wrong.
In the second of two articles I wrote on this I included the social associations of the three individuals who figured, one way or another, in the decision to write a letter to the Department of Justice most likely spawning its investigation in Ironman's Kona Lottery. I felt the associations were fair to make, because common circles of thought and behavior add what might be useful context (such as, for example, naming the organizations funding a ballot resolution).
In my expansive reply to Ms. Gross on our Reader Forum I went further, drawing a line connecting TriEqual to Lotterygate. There was just one problem: TriEqual was not formed until 2 months after the letter to Justice was sent. Hence, the acidic atmosphere that has surrounded any public discussion of TriEqual might be real, but I can't blame the atmosphere surrounding a movement for an action taken 2 months before the movement began.
I justified my view by writing that the issues that TriEqual began to raise in its open letter to Ironman in February were first discussed in earnest in August of last year. Some of the current leadership of TriEqual were in that meeting, taking a prominent position during voting cast at that meeting. It was my impression that the TriEqual movement didn't begin a week before TriEqual's letter was published in February, rather it began back in August, 2014 (if not before). That was my assumption, upon which I relied in my answer to Ms. Gross. The problem is, it was only an assumption.
Further, the triathlete who wrote the letter to the Justice Department tipping the US Attorney to Ironman's Lottery denies that he was motivated by anything to do with the issues the women have in Ironman racing. Yes, today he is an avid, vocal supporter of TriEqual's platform, but I don't see any evidence that heartburn over the failure of Ironman to grant pro women 15 additional pier slots in Kona spawned an attack on the Lottery in retaliation.
Therefore, it was both wrong of me to think that a poisoned atmosphere in February caused an event that took place in 2 months before that; nor was it right for me to insinuate, or cause readers to believe, that this was the case. If there is any place that I'm certain the prime movers in Lotterygate might have "met" and "assembled" prior to December of 2014, when the letter to Justice was sent, it's is right here on our own Reader Forum (all the parties mentioned in the articles I wrote are registered Slowtwitch Reader Forum members). Mentioning other associations might be relevant, but not in the context of causation.
What prompted the letter informing Justice of Ironman's Lottery I do not know, I cannot say, but present associations cannot influence past decisions. In my forum post to Ms. Gross I wrote, "There's been a frothing up, and that frothing was generated around the TriEqual movement... This is why I disagree with your view that TriEqual and this lottery issue are disconnected." While the "frothing up" part of that statement is true, the second half of that statement is not. There is no evidence that the TriEqual movement influenced anyone to inform on the Lottery program. What I'm writing today is my attempt to make this clear and to apologize.
