by Monique » 07 Jun 2012 Read
The very simple fact is that none of you or me has seen the players contract and we don't know what is in there that Ronnie doesn't want to commit to. Suggestions that it is about exhibition money are pure speculations.
Ronnie's statement - through his management - doesn't suggest anything of the like, nor does WSA statement.
The use of the word "onerous" rather suggests it's about commitment, and given Ronnie's stance about the full schedule, most probably commitment to actually enter events.
Comments on David Hendon blog suggest that WSA has committed with certain broadcaster(s) to guarantee that the World Champion and the World n°1 would be present at some events. I don't know if this is the case, but if it is then I'd expect this to be reflected in the players contract and it might be one of the "problems".
Another thing I have heard - and not from ROS or Grove , I want to make this clear - is that players wouldn't be allowed to "skip" more than 12 tournaments over two consecutive season. Again I don't know if there is any truth in this, but if there is this clearly is a "problem" as Ronnie does not intend to play in any of the PTCs this season or in the future.
What is not speculations is that if he, or anyone, is not committed to respect the contract, for whatever reason, then the only honest, reasonable or actually possible stance is indeed to refuse to sign it.
I've read the word "prima dona" about the time of announcement. When would be a good time to announce it? Now the deadline for the signature of the contract is just over, and if the reigning World Champion didn't sign it and hence rules himself out of the coming tournaments, neither WSA or himself/his management can keep it quiet. We are at the very start of the season, with no tournament on television. Now is as good a time as any to make the situation clear for everyone, fans, promoters and organisers alike.
Another thing: Ronnie and Barry Hearn know each other for many, many years, more than 20 years, and I don't believe that Ronnie expects or hopes that Barry would take any other stance than the one he did. So all the raging and the "Barry Hearn should say this or do that" are completely pointless. Barry Hearn will run the sport the way he wants and stick to his guns and nobody expects anything else.
Ronnie has the opportunity to sign the contract at any time and enter subsequently every event which entry is still "open". Will he do it? Many seem to think he will. I don't. He has not entered the Premier League which is probably his favorite event and that tells me that the reasons behind his decision not to sign the contract are serious and maybe final.
If anyone cares to remember, Ronnie had decided to put an end to his career last season, in 2010/11 and then changed his mind to an extend, went to see Steve Peters and decided to give it another go. Ending a career like his on a string of defeats was never going to be satisfactory for someone who is a great champion and certainly has his pride. Last year, in June, when he did an exhibition with Jimmy at the Barbican in York, he told a few people that he was going to give this season, 2011/12 a really good go but that it would probably be his last and that he was to take a break at the end of it. I think it was about proving to all, but maybe mainly to himself, that he still has it in him and that his decision wasn't driven by the feeling that he wasn't good enough anymore. He always said that he wanted to go on a high and it doesn't come higher than being the World Champion. To me he's simply sticking to his guns and I'm not surprised at all by the "news".
Again if anyone cares to remember, when he won the PL in 2010 he said that this might be his last. Another indication that this is not a rash decision, he's been thinking long and hard about it and it can't have been an easy one. Yes, he had often in the past said that he had enough. But he had never acted upon it, now he has. And anybody knowing him, will know that he is more balanced , and happy within himself, now than he has ever been as an adult.
Snooker will go on, no doubt whatever Ronnie decides in the long term. Nobody in any sport is "unmissable". Sportspersons come and go. Ronnie certainly knows it. This is simply about what he wants for himself and his life after 20 years in the game. 20 years that have often been obscured by depression and a complicate private life, under the spotlights, which hasn't made it any easier.
As Ronnie said in Sheffield: "Snooker has changed a lot over the last two years. The changes will suit some people, and it will not suit other people." He's never made a mystery that it didn't suit him. Barry Hearn has a sport to run and wants to do it his own way. He's been clear about his plans and he will go ahead. Ronnie has a life to live, has priorities that are not compatible with a packed calendar and inevitably was due to take a decision and make his choices clear. It seems he has and that's it.
)
