Iaconelli's Apology...

[badbass25]

http://www.mikeiaconelli.com/news.php?id=32

[SABP]

Him and T.O. ought to get together and have a bitch session on how everyone is out to get them and it is everyone elses fault except their own.

Great angler....bad apple

[Bob Simard]

It's to bad - there are a lot of player haters out there that will use this to pile on Iconelli. This didn't help.

We all step in it sometimes. Ike should have stopped at the first two paragraphs. "I screwed up, no excuse for it. Period."

My 8 year old loves the guy. He's probably already saw this at school. I don't know how I'm going to handle it when I get home.....
The kid's a fan. All I would say to Ike is you need to remember that Dude. Responsibility goes with success. Figure it F-ing out

The wells, fishing out of your own rig, blah blah that's a bunch of noise. That the first time you're been in a Triton?

Spend a little more time figuring out what you're going to do AFTER the whoop whoop, yell at the fish, look at your entourage. Maybe - TURN ON THE FREAKING LIVEWELL TIMERS before the breakdance?

[crash]

Ranger Drops Ike 8:36 PM 2/28/2006

Ranger drops Ike 2/28/2006
Ranger Boats has dropped its sponsorship of Mike Iaconelli based on his behavior at the recent Bassmaster Classic. Here's the statement from Ranger president Randy Hopper.

"Based on a series of events that occurred during the recent Bassmaster Classic competition, Ranger Boats is withdrawing its sponsorship and affiliation with Mike Iaconelli. We do not believe that Mike's conduct during the tournament appropriately represents the deep-seated values on which our company was built and continues to operate.

"Ranger further acknowledges Iaconelli's impressive angling achievements as well as his commitment to promoting the sport of fishing. His efforts to encourage others through the platform of fishing are a credit to his many accomplishments. While we regret his actions leading to this decision, we wish Mike well in future ventures."

> During day 2 of the Bassmaster Classic, Berkley issued a statement stating Iaconelli would remain a Berkley pro-staff member. BassFan is awaiting comment from Iaconelli's other sponsors.

[Fishin' Dave]

"Hater" is just a cop out to make someone look like the victim when they were the perpratrater

[MN]

Bob you are right the WEAK A.. excuse about the boat only made this fool look even worse.I mean come on you tell me you dont hear your pump's kick on and off.Maybe if he spent less time acting like a fool with a 2lb fish he may have noticed.

He knew darn good and well the fish he was on wasnt near good enough just like last year he had to do something to get in the limelight.Well Mike it's shining real bright on you now.

[A Koda]

How many times has Ike made the cut and had to run a Triton? How many times has he fished the calssic? The "diffrent boat than I'm used to" excuse doesn't hold water.

[Vernonn]

This statement has changed in the last couple hours......

[bryanmc]

Just out of curiosity....
If he hadn't been DQ'd and Ranger hadn't dumped him... Do you really think he would have apologized for acting like a complete fool, let alone desecrating the flag?

[aNNieNsaLTIE]

what does T.O. have to do with IKE?.. i did not get to watch all of the classic....
just wondering,saLTIE-

[Lance]

After 2 Classics and bashing the boat (Triton) that was used in the Classic, do you think Triton will pick him up?

[NaCl]

His ghost writer must be scrambling to react to the public responses! HaHa!

.....NaCl

[mark poulson]

Probably not. But that's what peer pressure, or, in this case, public pressure, is all about. He could have bowed his neck and told everyone to piss off. That he did appologize shows he's aware of all the implications of his immature behavior. Or that some one farther up the food chain is leaning on him. Either way, he has taken the first step. Now he needs to shut his mouth, fish well, and re-earn the respect of his peers and the public that he lost so easily.

[TomAtkeson]

All I can say is that I will take it at the value it is expressed he says he is sorry I will believe that despite what some may think is upper level pressure or public pressure to appoligize. The man said he is sorry and thats all any one can ask. He even appoligized for disrespecting the flag and that was not even really made an issue by BASS. All in all good enough for me....I wonder if that flag will be given the proper ceremony for a national ensign that has touched the deck.

[Polebrother]

I do not condone what Ike did this past weekend. He was flat out wrong. But some of his outbursts are premeditated while others are spontaneous. This one was clearly spontaneous, an unfortunate display of anger and frustration he neither planned nor envisioned. Dealing with dead fish at the Classic? Not on his pre-tourney checklist, I'm sure. I truly believe he is sorry about what happened and I accept his apology. As for Ranger, I am reminded of the old movie line, "Just follow the money." I assume Ike helped them make a ton of money and now licki-de-split he's under the bus...a liability all of a sudden versus an asset. Ask yourself if there are any other Ranger-sponsored pro's who, had they done the same thing Ike did, would have gotten off with a much lighter sentence from Ranger Inc? You bet. Ike never was and never will be one of the good ole boys in the pro bass fishing arena. Period. Trust me, Ike will find another boat. Watch him rebound from this difficult time. I am confident he will do just that.

[Bob Simard]

a call from Mom and Dad.....

Either way, I don't know him personally but have liked Ike since the TNN - Bassmaster days (late 90s) when he was running around the boat with a spinning rod fighting largemouth whilst everyone else was flipping. Those I know who have come into contact with him have said they were surprised at the amount of time he took to discuss a technique with them. The guy has an undeniable passion for the sport – his art.

I believe his war yell in the classic he won was heartfelt passion. I also believe a lot of his current "shtick" is encouraged by ESPN, and the 40 plus boats that follow him every tournament – it’s called playing to your audience. Love it or hate it, it’s creates buzz = revenue. The old guard don’t like it – tough. The game has changed – from “Nashville Countryâ€

[SABP]

Bipolar


He is a great angler, great with kids, always interesting to watch, has done alot for this sport....

but also does things that are premeditated to draw attention to himself, cusses all the time when on camera and things are bad, and cannot control his anger. Almost like a spoiled child who is happy when he has ice cream but when he drops it on the floor, he throws a temper tantrum on the floor and does not care who sees it.

He crossed the line this time and people who used to support him are getting tired of his act and are starting to get off the banwagon. He had it made as a bass pro and he is starting to blow it.

Only time will tell if we see him grow up or if he has a flame out and crashes.

[sTony]

I'm willing to bet that we'll see Mike grow from this and really become a much stronger person for having gone through the ordeal. He was on a path to be a very lonely guy and I'm hopful that this entire situation will be something he'll look back at as being the turning point in his life.

I wish him all the best as he can do much for the sport if he learns somehting about himself from this entire incident and grows from it.

sTony

[MIKE TREMONT]

I don't know, he didn't mature much from last year.
I also don't care for all the hype in any sport. I've heard and understand it creates revenues. I personnaly don't care for it myself and no longer watch or support anything to do with ESPN.That's all they seem to be interested in, something controversial. In my opinon there is so much more, mind you I'm someone that can watch and enjoy a baseball game or bowling for that matter, BORING! There's a game within the game and that's what's interesting to me.
Just my two cents and I'm bored at work.