Curling is a sport that requires extreme precision, finesse and patience -- three things that drunk people do not have. So it's almost impressive that Jamie Koe and his team of Ryan Fry, Chris Schille and D.J. Kidby were kicked out of the Red Deer Curling Classic on Sunday for being "extremely drunk." The belligerence was a distraction to everyone, and the Red Deer Curling Centre was forced to send a message.
"They went out to curl and they were extremely drunk and breaking brooms and swearing and just unacceptable behavior that nobody wants to watch or hear or listen to and it was just 'enough was enough,'" said facility manager Wade Thurbur of the foursome, via CBC Sports. "There was some damage in the locker room and other teams complaining about their stuff being kicked around in the locker room. So at the end of the day, it was like 'OK, that's enough of this gong show.' The committee for the bonspiel collectively decided that we needed to remove them from the spiel for this year and what happens down the road, I'm not sure yet."
Thurbur may be referring to some type of legal action or ban with the "I'm not sure yet" comment, but those at the event clearly weren't amused by the antics of the team, which includes a 2014 gold medalist in Fry. The sign that the committee posted to ban the foursome made it pretty clear that they weren't welcome back.
"We did that because we had so many complaints from other players and teams, not to mention the spectators, and so we wanted them to know that we did something about it," Thurbur said.
The event is on the World Curling Tour, and Team Koe ultimately had to forfeit its last match.
"My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing — the committee was right to disqualify us from play," Fry said in a statement, via USA Today. "I allowed myself to lose control and I offended people with my actions. I wish nothing more than to apologize to everyone individually.
Jamie Koe's older brother Kevin represented Canada as skip in the 2018 Olympics. It may be tough for Jamie to share the honor after this.
Drunk curling should really be its own sport. It's understandable that those in attendance are upset -- but there's probably an entire market for a bunch of people breaking brooms and cursing.