Thank You, Team 217

[Paul Copioli]

Let me set the record straight. I never ever told any of the teams that we would decline. As a matter of fact, I told every team in the top 15 that we would accept if they picked us but I was certain we could not be repaired. I told the exact same thing to every team including 1538. As a matter of fact, I told them 3 times that we were unable to play.

During alliance selection I was on Galileo watching that selection because I knew we would not be picked based on our robot status.

In sure the 1538 mentors i told will corroborate my story. I am 100% positive I told no team that we would decline. Making claims that I said anything otherwise is just false.

I was trying to make sure all of the teams in the top 8 knew our status. 1538 had the exact same information everyone else had prior to alliance selection. I believe they took a huge risk picking us.

Our auton didn't fire two times during eliminations which was exactly one of the problems we were having when I approached every team in the top 15.

To be clear, I was the mentor that approached every team in the top 15. You can blame me and solely me if you think you were misled. My team tried everything they could to get the robot working.

Most of our team had no idea what was going on with the robot so I have no idea who you talked to after alliance selection but it wasn't me.

Lastly, you do not need to be anonymous. I would be more than happy to discuss the exact circumstances regarding the Newton alliance selection. You have every right to be upset but you have no right to take anonymous shots at my team. You can take shots at me, but you better stand up and be a man (or woman) about it. As you probably know, because you are the one who got Frank Merrick involved, I was approached by Frank and Aiden regarding the situation. They interviewed me and the mentors from 1538 and were completely satisfied with our explanation.

In any case, this is my first and last response to this thread.

Paul