This is in regards to my public statement posted on AZ Billiards that caused people to have a lot of negative views about Kelly Fisher surrounding the US Open.
There was a conference call with Kelly Fisher, Tamre Geene-Rogers and Dawn Hopkins and myself for about an hour. Kelly, along with Tamre, Dawn and I had a wonderful call in which we all decided to forgive and forget any negative comments and move on for the betterment of billiards as we have one common passion, we all absolutely love the game of pool.
Kelly stated, “After going through the proper channels with the WPBA, I was glad to have had the opportunity to have a discussion with Barry and to resolve the issue, and personally give him the correct information that was misrepresented.”
It is now clear that Kelly had a question about why I was allowing women to play in the US Open after 34 years of the event never featuring a co-ed field. We discussed this and I cleared up any questions she might have had.
Kelly spoke from her heart with concerns of how do we fix this problem and we both wanted that to happen. Kelly stated, “Thinking I was in a private conversation with two fellow players, I did not feel that it would become public. I would never publicly say anything to jeopardize the game of pool. A source quoted me as making a statement that I did not make and painted a picture that was not true and misrepresented me, and my intention was nothing how it was related back to Barry.”
Hopefully, if possible, Kelly Fisher will play in the US Open, but if not, it is only due to scheduling conflicts. Kelly also stated, “I am disappointed for this to have happened to begin with, as my views of the US Open being a true open event, open to the women to play, is a great step in the right direction not only for the game of pool but for our sport.”
To Kelly, Tamre', Dawn and the entire WPBA board and players, all is well with me. Let's just all get along and enjoy the game of pool with passion.
Sincerely,
Barry S Behrman
Founder and Promoter
U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships
along with the WPBA Board of Directors and Kelly Fisher (WPBA Player)
