I have read with interest several columns by bowling scribes who have had little good to say about Chris Warren since he made his opinionated remarks about Norm Duke and Walter Ray Williams Jr. Every column, every article by every writer has been negative towards Warren.
In April’s BOWL Magazine and numerous other publications, John Jowdy, immediate past president of the Bowling Writers Association of America, wrote: "Chris Warren’s remarks leveled at Walter Ray Williams Jr. reek of envy and hypocrisy." Pretty strong stuff.
Ed Koncsol, in San Antonio’s Across The Lanes, quoted from Jowdy’s column and then gave a physical description of Warren as "a blistering 5’5" and 115 pounds." He then went on to claim, "if Walter Ray hears about his remarks, he [Warren] may come in at 5’1" or 2."
Come on, fellas: What’s the big deal? Doesn’t Warren have a right to his opinion the same as you have about the nerve of him?
No one said anything about Randy Pedersen’s comments in a Bowling Digest interview by Dan Herbst when Herbst asked him about what he was going to do with the solid 8-pin he left in his match against Ernie Schlegel, and Pedersen responded, "maybe chop it up into little pieces or shove it...."
Bowlers, like all athletes, say things they probably wish they hadn’t, and usually it’s during an interview. My friend Robert Lawrence, a PBA member and Austin, Tex., resident, can attest that interviews can have an adverse effect upon a career. I have never had a problem getting an interview from Robert, and he is very candid. I am sure that was the case with Warren.
I have crossed lanes with Warren during pro-am competition of the Quaker State Open at Forum Bowl in Grand Prairie, Tex., and I found him to be a likable guy and a true crowd-pleaser. He was great with the youth bowlers and scorekeepers, and he always had time for autographs, doing so with that infectious smile.
I have not to talked with Warren about his comments or his reaction to Jowdy and others. I would like to.
Warren was just being Warren. However, his opinion should carry as much weight as the opinionated columns of Jowdy and Koncsol—in my opinion!