The retired surf star and daddy-to-be Kelly Slater, fifty-two, has finally delivered his verdict on the Colapinto-Chianca controversy that bedevilled the recently completed El Salvador Pro.
Griffin, often referred to as the Gandhi of Surfing for his relentless search for self-improvement and north star positivity, posted his response to the events of two days earlier when João Chianca used theatre to provoke an interference ruling.
“Never give up! Whether the paddle interference call was right or not, I still put myself in a vulnerable situation,” wrote Griffin. “This obviously hurts when I have my best heat of the year and still lose. All I know is I will use this to dig deeper and learn from my mistakes. If I can take any positives from this, it’s that I can come from behind and still perform my best under pressure. This situation also pushed me to raise my level in a jersey that I may have forgotten that I’m capable of. With all great success stories there’s adversity. This is part of the deal. No holding back the rest of the year! Everything happens for us.”
Kelly Slater, however, made his own feelings, which were far less languid, clear in the comment pane.
“Well, the interference was beyond lame,” wrote Kelly. “He paddled at a 45 degree angle into you from where the wave couldn’t even be ridden. Yes, you also put yourself in that position but I felt it was the wrong call. Nice surfing.”
Kelly’s verdict drew ire from mostly Brazilian surf fans who were quick to point out Kelly did the exact same thing in his US Open Final with Shane Beschen in 1996, against Andy Irons at Pipe in 2000 and Adrian de Souza in Puerto Rico in 2010.
“Slater, you’re my all time favourite…the best to ever do it by far. The GOAT. But the move on Beschen was and still is one of the ‘snakiest’ moves ever seen. At Pipe, you paddled for a left and last minute turned to Backdoor in hopes Andy would go and get the interference. Love you but your judgement has always been biased.”
“Man, really??? Are you every day getting crazier?? You did exactly the same against Adriano de Souza in Puerto Rico!!! Don’t be selective, you only complain about WSL when it is against your friends. Go raise your kid, you already did that and would do it again, don’t come crying.”
“How do you call what you did against Shane Beschen?”
Never one to let an insult go unchallenged, Kelly wrote:
“I actually ride the wave behind Beschen and he could have looked. As for Andy, he was on the shoulder from me and paddled around me. I allowed him to and he got the wave. Joao didn’t even try to stand up on the wave and paddled into the whitewater sideways. I love that people who probably don’t even compete are debating this with me though.”
As for the argument that Kelly disputed the decision ‘cause Joao is Brazilian he wrote:
“My argument has zero to do with Joao’s nationality. It’s Brazilians in the comment section claiming it’s against them which it is not. That’s ridiculous. You guys are being way too sensitive and reactive.”
Let’s run ’em side by side, 1996 US Open Final and El Sal with Griff and Chianca.
Who did it better?
Kelly or João ?
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