Like most sportswriters, I got into this business because I was a sports fan.
I still am today — and like every pro fishing fan with a pulse, I wanted to see Scott Martin take a great big swing in the Champion Power Equipment Bassmaster Elite at Lake Okeechobee last week. It’s his home. His bat cave.
So, selfishly, I was crushed when it came to light that he self-reported a violation of the no-information rule that ultimately led to his disqualification.
But once I had time to think about it rationally, I gained a greater respect for Scott than I’ve ever had before.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always respected him. He’s handled every interaction I’ve ever had with him with the utmost professionalism — and his world-famous father, Roland Martin, was doing the same for me years before I ever met Scott.
But think about it. Scott not only self-reported a violation he knew would get him disqualified from an event where he was the clear favorite. But in the in the wake of the DQ, he showed the kind of superior class that younger anglers — younger people, in general — should take note of.
It was big-time stuff, man.
To appear on Bassmaster LIVE and admit he was part of a conversation that he should have “shut down” sooner? That’s Hall-of-Fame-level integrity.
To openly admit that stricter enforcement of the no-information rule was something the anglers pushed for during the offseason? That makes the dude one of my new heroes on tour.
He didn’t have to do any of the stuff he did after the DQ, but I’d be willing to bet he gained as many new fans with that kind of behavior as he would have by lifting a blue trophy in his own backyard.
I don’t know why I even keep visiting social media in situations like this. My fellow Leeds, Ala., native and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, said long ago that social media is where fools go to feel important — and he’s right.
But I guess it’s another form of the old rubber-necking syndrome that causes slowdowns around every wreck on the interstate. Sometimes you just can’t help yourself.
I’ll admit it was hard to look away from some of the online ignorance surrounding the situation with Scott at Okeechobee. When you get petty complaints about B.A.S.S. enforcing the rules from some of the same brain donors who complained about B.A.S.S. not enforcing the rules just last year, it’s hard to hold your tongue.
But I hope at least some of those folks will realize they did Scott a disservice by acting as if B.A.S.S. was the one that did something wrong. Scott certainly didn’t say that. The idea that someone who knows absolutely nothing about the situation could say it — and with a straight face, no less — is laughable.
During my 10 years with B.A.S.S. and 30 years in the sportswriting profession, I’ve dealt with everything from recruiting violations to coaches calling escort services with their school-issued cellphones. In fishing, I’ve covered the disqualifications of Greg Hackney, Kevin VanDam and Brandon Palaniuk.
I’ve seen some of them handled poorly and some of them handled with total class.
But never in my career have I seen someone make the best of a bad situation like Scott Martin.
