1 White Marlin Open winner fails polygraph, 2 being retested
Richard PollittFor a second consecutive year, polygraphs are the hot topic surrounding the White Marlin Open just two weeks after the tournament’s conclusion.
Tournament founder Jim Motsko confirmed that an angler who won prize money in the 44th annual competition failed a polygraph after the tournament's conclusion. Officials would not release the boat or angler involved in the testing.
The White Marlin Open’s rulebook states any angler who wins $50,000 or more may be required at the discretion of tournament directors to take and pass a polygraph. Tests are administered by polygraph examiners, not tournament officials.
The angler who failed opted to take a second test from a different organization offered by the White Marlin Open. Officials were given the results Friday morning, but have yet to disclose the findings.
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Another unknown angler, also a prize winner, was tested Friday after his first test was inconclusive. These results were also withheld.
Stevensville, Maryland, native Glen Frost claimed the top prize in the tournament, claiming $1.6 million for his catch of a 95.5-pound white marlin. It is unclear which anglers received a second polygraph; however, the White Marlin Open, when asked Aug. 18, said “(Frost) did not fail his polygraph."
Other winners eligible for testing include Mike Donohue of the Griffin and Joe Andrews of M.R. Ducks in the white marlin division; Joe Sadler of the Intents, Jim Boynton of the Blue Runner and Kris Rainear of the Warden Pass in the tuna category; and Andrew Cohen of the Silly Money in the dolphin division.
Coming into the 2017 competition, polygraph testing was a familiar issue for the world’s largest billfish tournament.
Phil Heasley, the winner of the 2016 White Marlin Open, did not pass his polygraph following the catch of his first-place 76.5-pound white marlin. At the time, Heasley was set to earn $2.8 million.
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The issue was taken to federal court, where Judge Richard D. Bennett concluded Heasley and his crew members aboard the Kallianassa violated tournament rules, a ruling that resulting in the withholding of prize money.
Heasley later appealed the judge’s ruling, but he is required to pay a fee of nearly $282,000 for the judge to hear the appeal.
Chris Sullivan, an attorney who represented Heasley throughout the trial, issued the following statement Friday afternoon regarding the news of the failed polygraph.
The Kallianassa doesn’t delight at anyone’s misfortune. We’re saddened to hear that yet again there is a controversy surrounding polygraphs and the White Marlin Open. As we’ve learned throughout our yearlong involvement, polygraphs are unreliable — even when conducted to standards the polygraph examiners set for themselves. We had hoped that the White Marlin Open would have learned this lesson as well and eliminated polygraphs from its competition. Polygraphs have no place in our society, be it in government hiring or in fishing.
We do not know the details of this year's issues, so we cannot comment on the particulars. However, we believe the White Marlin Open could have prevented this if they had only listened to us last year and let us present our evidence, including eyewitnesses, rather than take us to court. We will be monitoring this situation with intense scrutiny. In conclusion, we send our sympathies to all honorable fishermen. You don’t win a contest by winning a polygraph — or a court case. You win it by catching a fish fairly.