Nikko LoCastro intimidating a PDGA official at European Open '22

[Dingus]

The first time I met Nikko was around 1998; as I walked off the course finishing my round I noticed a little skinny kid whacking the crapola out of the front bumper of my car with a stick.

Make that twice in this thread where my hot take was derailed by further information.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

What I find problematic in Nikko's behavior is not the passion and emotions he shows on the course -- I can relate well to them --, but that he showed no respect for the tournament official staff. This alone should be the reason for some kind of disciplinary action. Because we cannot tolerate, that players are disrespectful and rude to officials. It does not matter what happened before (even if they were wrong), you must never be disrespectful or rude to officials.

So if a referee starts letting his emotions get in front of him and it starts to affect the game, we should just respect him/her no matter what?

Nah. I played a certain contact sport for 18 years of my life and there's no way in hell I'd ever let a disrespectful official disrespect me or my team players.

Not saying I'd get in their face then tell them to step away from me but, I definitely would pull them aside and give them one warning to cut the bull. Nothing is worse than an official/ref who doesn't know the sport and attempts to assert themselves when they are in the wrong.

The difference is, the European official was nothing but professional to Nikko immediately and if officials/refs give respect, they are going to get respect right back.

 

[ballgolfconvert]

You're an absolute peach.

What do you have a problem with? That the DGTP should figure out on their own how to avoid the dead time?

Or is it

That there is a specific chain of events before taking too much time results in a penalty? If that wasn't the case then every one of us are cheaters, because we all take long than prescribed on occasion and always without a penalty.

 

[ohtobediscing]

And for those who are defending Nikko's actions towards the tourney official as ok, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

 

[foxdawg10]

So if a referee starts letting his emotions get in front of him and it starts to affect the game, we should just respect him/her no matter what?

Nah. I played a certain contact sport for 18 years of my life and there's no way in hell I'd ever let a disrespectful official disrespect me or my team players.

Not saying I'd get in their face then tell them to step away from me but, I definitely would pull them aside and give them one warning to cut the bull. Nothing is worse than an official/ref who doesn't know the sport and attempts to assert themselves when they are in the wrong.

The difference is, the European official was nothing but professional to Nikko immediately and if officials/refs give respect, they are going to get respect right back.

None of this happened in this situation so I don't fully understand where you are coming from.

And your conclusion is completely wrong because the official showed nothing but respect and they did not receive respect back from Nikko.

 

[ballgolfconvert]

What I find problematic in Nikko's behavior is not the passion and emotions he shows on the course -- I can relate well to them --, but that he showed no respect for the tournament official staff. This alone should be the reason for some kind of disciplinary action. Because we cannot tolerate, that players are disrespectful and rude to officials. It does not matter what happened before (even if they were wrong), you must never be disrespectful or rude to officials.

I have never seen a penalty (foul) called without a player getting very upset. if it was obvious to the player they called it on themselves. I also think Nikko had the right to be upset because the official was not professional pre-call by informing Nikko that he was actually on the clock. Before next year's events the rule will call for player notification. Why expect players to act professional when the officials go into an unprofessional 'prey" mode with them singled out. Just have the courtesy to inform the player. I think that is not asking too much.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

None of this happened in this situation so I don't fully understand where you are coming from.

And your conclusion is completely wrong because the official showed nothing but respect and they did not receive respect back from Nikko.

Well first off, if you read my post you'd see that I quoted someone and that was the context of my post.

And second, I literally said that at the end of my post that the official was immediately respectful to Nikko and professional while Nikko acted like a child.

Perhaps you should not take things out of context?

And sorry but I don't ever let anyone disrespect me even if they're an authority figure. I'm not gonna swing on them or try to get in their face but definitely let them know that I don't appreciate their bs.

 

[roblee]

..... I also think Nikko had the right to be upset because the official was not professional pre-call by informing Nikko that he was actually on the clock.[QUOTE/]

Do we know this? I haven't seen this documented. If the call was a penalty then by Rule there was a previous warning.

"Before next year's events the rule will call for player notification."

Is this fact or a suggestion?

 

[foxdawg10]

Well first off, if you read my post you'd see that I quoted someone and that was the context of my post.

And second, I literally said that at the end of my post that the official was immediately respectful to Nikko and professional while Nikko acted like a child.

Perhaps you should not take things out of context?

And sorry but I don't ever let anyone disrespect me even if they're an authority figure. I'm not gonna swing on them or try to get in their face but definitely let them know that I don't appreciate their bs.

"The difference is, the European official was nothing but professional to Nikko immediately and if officials/refs give respect, they are going to get respect right back."

This sentence is confusing. Thanks for the clarification. I stand by my statement that the official was respectful and did not get respect back, contrary to your statement.

 

[txmxer]

The minute Dingus posted this... I was just waiting for 3P's response. I was pretty sure 3P would have some good intel and first hand knowledge.

Yep. Almost always there is a good story/history lesson coming up next.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I also think Nikko had the right to be upset because the official was not professional pre-call by informing Nikko that he was actually on the clock.

30 sec is 30 sec. It's the same for everyone. Once you get to your lie, no one should have to tell any player a clock's been started.

In reality, the 30 sec clock is a lot like speeding. Go a bit over once in a while, probs never get called on it. But the more frequently you do it (or the more eggregious a single incident is), the more you invite the call.

If someone speeds all the time, it seems ridiculous they should get bent out of shape when they finally get a ticket. Nikko's a habitual speeder, and he finally got ticketed.

Instead of just paying the fine and moving on, he pitched a fit and ended up in jail for a more serious violation.

 

[WD09]

In reality, the 30 sec clock is a lot like speeding. Go a bit over once in a while, probs never get called on it. But the more frequently you do it (or the more eggregious a single incident is), the more you invite the call.

In the rebroadcast of the incident shown at the beginning of today's MPO round on DGN, the official can be heard saying that Nikko took over one minute and also that he had been warned before.

 

[Voodoo Magic]

Nikko has demons. He has always had demons; his behavior when he was little was out-of-control and he didn't really have the stability at home to get under control. He was able to covert to being a disc golfer full-time right out of H.S., which allowed him to avoid figuring out how to operate in the real world. Being able to play disc golf has been a blessing for him in that it has allowed him to make a living. The curse is that it has allowed him to avoid dealing with his demons.

Disc golf accidentally got big and now his demons are on full display to a larger audience. The disc golf bubble that allowed him to avoid his demons got too big to allow him to hide any longer.

Maybe now he will be forced to deal with his demons. Or not, it might be too late. He's going to get a huge suspension for this. The bubble that protected him from his behavior is going to push him out. He has depended on disc golf for his entire adult life; what he does without it is anybody's guess.

This is brilliant. Quoting this just because it's so wise.

I'd add that even if it turns out to be too late for his disc golf career, I don't think it's ever too late for any person to work with their own issues and strive to improve themselves. As long as you're alive, you can develop and have a better tomorrow.

 

[nothinbuttree]

With the exception of hole16 at World's last year, that island was hole was pretty good to Conrad.

I was thinking USDGC when I made the comment. 17 I believe--definitely cost him a win.

 

[ballgolfconvert]

30 sec is 30 sec. It's the same for everyone. Once you get to your lie, no one should have to tell any player a clock's been started.

In reality, the 30 sec clock is a lot like speeding. Go a bit over once in a while, probs never get called on it. But the more frequently you do it (or the more eggregious a single incident is), the more you invite the call.

If someone speeds all the time, it seems ridiculous they should get bent out of shape when they finally get a ticket. Nikko's a habitual speeder, and he finally got ticketed.

Instead of just paying the fine and moving on, he pitched a fit and ended up in jail for a more serious violation.

Exactly. It is only a valid penalty when a set of additional circumstances has occurred. Most times it is at worse considered a mild courtesy violation. Otherwise we would all be calling it on each other repeatedly. Most folks here would get livid (seeing how you respond to various comments), if this was called on them in a tourney unannounced, especially when they are waiting on the tee every hole. A TD announcing it at start of play is insufficient without spot notification when it is occurring. An example:

Official: "Sorry guys. You are a hole behind and you are now on the clock. Bad times will result in penalty until the group regains position."

It is an oversight that this aspect is not part of the time penalty assessment process and likely had much to do with how it played out. Doubt Nikko would have been happy either way, but if he knew he was officially on the clock, he may have thrown more timely. It's like cops hiding completely out of view, often get tickets thrown out for entrapment.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Exactly. It is only a valid penalty when a set of additional circumstances has occurred. Most times it is at worse considered a mild courtesy violation. Otherwise we would all be calling it on each other repeatedly. Most folks here would get livid (seeing how you respond to various comments), if this was called on them in a tourney unannounced, especially when they are waiting on the tee every hole. A TD announcing it at start of play is insufficient without spot notification when it is occurring. An example:

Official: "Sorry guys. You are a hole behind and you are now on the clock. Bad times will result in penalty until the group regains position."

It is an oversight that this aspect is not part of the time penalty assessment process and likely had much to do with how it played out. Doubt Nikko would have been happy either way, but if he knew he was officially on the clock, he may have thrown more timely. It's like cops hiding completely out of view, often get tickets thrown out for entrapment.

In other words it's okay to violate the rules I agreed to abide by if no one is looking.

Brilliant.

 

[DiscJunkie]

I am not defending Nikko and I am not criticizing the tour official for doing his job.
Nikko's behavior was inexcusable and the tour official acted professionally.

Having said that…
I hope and recommend that the PDGA and DGPT investigate not only Nikko's mis-behavior, but also what could possibly be done in the future to avoid a repeat (from the next hothead with a touring card).
When a problem occurs, a good troubleshooter/engineer looks at the mechanism of the failure and how to fix that, but also looks to prevent the next occurrence.
In other words, investigate the the failure, the consequences and the mechanism of failure with an eye to prevention.
Maybe the answer ends up being that all was done that could be done, but they need to look at this as a way to learn from the past to see if it could be prevented from happening again.

Nobody wins from things like this.

 

[Hampstead]

Not sure how the PDGA could prevent Nikko from being Nikko.

 

[glassila]

Exactly. ...It is an oversight that this aspect is not part of the time penalty assessment process and likely had much to do with how it played out. Doubt Nikko would have been happy either way, but if he knew he was officially on the clock, he may have thrown more timely. It's like cops hiding completely out of view, often get tickets thrown out for entrapment.

Entrapment is when the police influence a person to commit a crime that they would not have committed otherwise.

If prior to the incident the official had said to Nikko, "take as long as you want on your throws", then the official penalized him for a time violation...that would be entrapment.

It's not entrapment for a police officer to hide behind a billboard or a rules official to "hide" while timing players.

 

[Hampstead]

Is it entrapment if Nikko took over a minute and the official finally said something at that point?