Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregor
If you honestly believe that you can draw parallels between not attempting the coop bridge with very very good teams and deliberately sabotaging the premier FRC matches, I don't even know what to say...
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If you think the situation at GTRE was as simple as "not cooping with elite teams" then sorry, you need to get your head checked. The problem at GTRE was teams trying to influence the coop points of matches they were not involved in through conspiracy and, in some case involving rookies, bullying ("Nobody will like you if you balance with these teams"). Not cooping is a valid strategy. Trying to convince other teams not to coop is not. FIRST made this clear at the Week 3 events through a Team Update (IIRC), an emailed team notice, and Dean's own comments at the Montreal Regional.
Sidenote: I don't believe the events on Einstein are related to those at GTRE. The GTRE issues could have occurred anywhere where there are two elite teams that stand heads and shoulders above even the 3rd best robot. Imagine, for example, a Michigan where the only powerhouses are 469 and 67. Or a California with just 254 and 1717. These two teams pair up and dominate year after year. Of course this builds up some level of animosity. This isn't a Canada issue; Canada just so happens to be where this issue surfaced.
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As for 1114's official statement, I agree wholeheartedly. Mistakes were made, purposeful interference happened. Don't hide it. The great thing about 1114 asking for a public apology is that, if they were in the same situation, they would apologize in a heartbeat. Reputation can be rebuilt, but suspicion can't be dissolved without clear answers.
We are constantly told that the Einstein teams are the Best of the Best, not only because they have the greatest robots/strategic minds of that year, but because they are
class acts. Apologizing admits that there may be something amiss in team culture, or that the individual was a bad apple but wasn't originally thought to be. Admittance is a very good first step in the right direction. I for one would applaud any team that came forward to admit that a member committed sabotage and also said they are working to fix the problem in their own team.
Keep the individual anonymous, and I'm ok with that. But it's the team's responsibility to make sure that EVERY team member "gets FIRST." I think it's a good thing that an individual's actions impact the reputation of a team. It forces a team to look at itself and intentionally weed out bad apples and turn them into glorious, shiny red ones with no worms. Asking for an apology for being unable to do this, in my opinion, is justified.