Letter: Polygraph is unreliable, unfair way to verify White Marlin winner
As the daughter of Philip Heasley, the angler at the center of the 2016 White Marlin Open dispute over failed polygraphs, I could write about my father, a wonderful person who lives with morals, values and ethics as his guiding light.
But there’s no room for that here.
My father’s legal battle is both emotionally and financially taxing, but he persists, now to the appellate courts, because it is the right thing. A wonderful legacy for his grandchildren.
In 2016, I didn’t know much about polygraphs. White Marlin Open organizer Jim Motsko used $250 polygraphs to resolve a dispute over the time my father deployed his line from his boat, The Kallianassa. Eyewitnesses from a competitor boat, The Maverick, testified they saw my dad’s catch and believed what they saw was legal.
Today, I know a lot about polygraphs. Most importantly, I know they do not and have never worked. I’m happy to personally send anyone scientific studies that prove this. Our government’s National Research Council’s 2003 study is a good place to start.
The 2016 White Marlin Open prize money is now in the appellate court’s hands. We pray for justice. Regardless of outcome, I will not walk away from my knowledge about polygraphs. I will rail against them — be that their use in talk shows, government hiring, police investigations or fishing contests. Sadly, losing $2.8 million over a polygraph — in my opinion a pseudoscience — is a small, slight misfortune compared to others’ polygraph stories.
I used to write cheerful stories — one is even a 2017 Hallmark film. I miss doing that, but this is more important.
In 2017, there were again failed or inconclusive polygraphs in the White Marlin Open. Yet the tournament filed no court case and prizes were distributed.
The White Marlin Open is a crown jewel for the Ocean City area and its tourism industry. But not all traditions should endure, especially when there are and have been better ways to govern tournaments. If the White Marlin Open doesn't eliminate polygraphs, controversy will continue to shroud the tournament. Your community supposedly values and respects sport fishing. If that’s true, please do not be complicit and demand the White Marlin Open eliminate polygraphs.
Gwendolyn Heasley of Naples, Florida, is the daughter of Philip Heasley.
Editor's Note: Philip Heasley was disqualified from the competition by a judge, finding Heasley deployed his line prior to the 8:30 a.m. start of the tournament on the day the fish was caught and failed to pass a polygraph test in accordance with tournament rules. The winners in 2017, after failing to pass a first polygraph, did pass a second polygraph, validating the win as per the rules. Heasley's first polygraph was inconclusive; he failed the second.
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