Stab in the back.
They say that death and taxes are the only things certain in this wild world but I would also include surfing’s Stab spinelessly bending to whichever way the wind is blowing. The media house, which has bounced from one hip location just passed its prime to another, has long, and I truly hate to be crass, sucked World Surf League dick.
Always cheering, never jeering, the now Oceanside-based members-only surf blog has vigorously championed every move made by the World Surf League since billionaire Dirk Ziff’s purchase for free in 2015.
Clearly hoping to get some o dat.
Alas, some o dat did not come and now the propagandist organ is stabbing, no pun intended, the aforementioned Ziff, Chief Executive Erik Logan and the whole shooting match directly in the back.
Judas-like.
In a new bit of paywall journalism, Stab has declared the WSL is up for sale while being extremely rude to figures it once fellated.
Back in 2013, an American billionaire with a surf-enthralled wife decided to buy the Association of Surfing Professionals. He then gave it a shiny new name, restructured the operation from top to bottom, and developed an AI software called “Erik Logan” to help sell the dream, creating the World Surf League that we all know and love today.
Unfortunately, the WSL has recorded tens of millions in losses since its inception. And because the WSL is a private company with no outside investment, that means Dirk Ziff has recorded tens of millions in losses since its inception.
When you’re a billionaire, this isn’t the end of the world — a “tax write-off” as some would put it (people who make a lot of money need some losses to offset their gains). But when you’re a billionaire, you also know when the time is right to make a deal. And from the intel we’ve gathered, Ziff is in the market for a sale. Reportedly, he’s already had meetings with “very serious” suitors who are looking to take the League off his hands.
Furthering our suspicions is the fact that at the recent Surf Ranch Pro, despite very public protests from some of surfing’s biggest stars at this same event, the WSL remained incredibly calm and level-headed, and minus a tongue-lashing from Erik Logan decided not to punish Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo, and Italo Ferreira for their reprisals of the League
— at least not publicly.
Also: In recent weeks, we’ve heard whispers that WSL owner Dirk Ziff has been in talks to sell his entire enterprise — the league, broadcast channels, KS Wave Co, and everything in between.
The use of “whispers” and “intel we’ve gathered” is clearly disturbing, alongside Gabriel Medina, Filipe Toledo and Italo Ferreira’s “reprisals of the League” plus the lie of “no outside investment,” as Slater Wave Co. prospectors have been roped into the World Surf League, but I have been saying this World Surf League is cooked for months now.
Stab’s jumping off the ship like a rat further proof.
Extremely shoddy surf journalism to boot.
More as the story develops.
