TheFordReport.Com

11/5/08

PInellas Park, FL

With my recent dismissal from day-to-day operations as Editor-in-Chief at 68Caliber.Com there’s been a lot of talk regarding the circumstances of my removal, most of it from my now-former colleagues at 68Caliber.Com, Steve and Karen Davidson.  In an effort to put out factual information regarding my dismissal and to counteract what appears to be a full-on attempt publicly assassinate my character on 68Caliber.Com and their associated WordPress Blog 68Caliber 2.0,  I am now forced to write this response.

Karen Davidson wrote a response to my wife and others on Lawrence “TB” Wright’s blog, www.worldoftb.com , in which she confirms that she is the controlling partner in PBCProductions, Inc., the Florida for-profit corporation that owns and operates 68Caliber.Com.  She owns 51% of the business.  I hold 44%, and Kurt Wise holds 5%.  While her husband, Steve Davidson is not an owner per se, he does take an active role in running the company with his wife Karen.

The Davidsons and I initiated a contract on April 1, 2006 that created the new partnership involving me, The Davidsons, and Mr. Wise.

In Davidson’s initial press release regarding my dismissal, he made an effort to make issue of the fact that I write for several different paintball magazines, including SPLAT XD and PB2X.  In later responses he notes that I am allowed to do so as long as it doesn’t negatively impact 68Caliber.Com.  I recently announced that I would start writing a monthly column for PB2X called “The Skinny”.  The Davidsons made no effort to determine what the format of The Skinny would be before deciding that it was in violation of my contract.  In either case, I see no conflict of interest or unfair competition, as PB2X is a print publication versus 68Caliber.Com, which is a news gateway.  Given my extensive involvement with print magazines prior to the Davidson’s initiation of the contract in 2006, this allegation is spurious at best, and hypocritical in the extreme at the worst, given that they were making a point of telling potential advertisers (under the pseudonym Rich Gold) that I was extensively published by print magazines.

They’ve also made issue of TheFordReport.Com, which they claim is a competing website.  If I were reporting news, event coverage, pictures and reviews on TheFordReport.Com, they would have a point.  However, TheFordReport.Com serves as the online home of the report, houses the mailing list itself, and offers a way for subscibers to sign up for the Report that functions properly.  When I informed them of my intent to create a website for The Ford Report, which is not mentioned once in their contract with me, they had no objection whatsoever.  Why it’s an issue now is a question best left to the Davidsons.

TheFordReport.Com is not a competing website to 68Caliber.Com, nor any other paintball website currently in operation.  The Ford Report is unique and so is it’s website.   With regards to Davidson’s allegations that I was showing a bias towards WDP during my so-called sponsorship by them, this is also a misrepresentation of facts.  WDP was an advertiser of 68Caliber.Com’s, and they chose to take advantage of the program that allows an advertiser to pay their advertising by providing a combination of cash and product to pay their bill.  Other companies took advantage of this offer, including Redz.  In both cases I took the product side of the payment, as I am still an active paintball player and could better represent an advertiser by actually using their product, while The Davidsons got the cash portion.  Mr. Wise normally took his share in product.

During my tenure with 68Caliber.Com with WDP as an advertiser, I reviewed several different markers, as well as accessories for markers other than Angels.  You need only look at the review articles on 68Caliber.Com itself or through back issues of PB2X to see the variety of markers that underwent review during my so-called sponsorship by WDP.  Out of respect for WDP and Owen Ronayne, I treated their support of 68Caliber.Com as a personal sponsorship, using their markers exclusively while I continued to play, giving them a value added for their money.

They’re also making the allegation that I’m somehow receiving compensation from Planet Eclipse.  I am not.  68Caliber.Com is currently running Planet Eclipse’s banner per a short term agreement between the companies that had Planet Eclipse provide an Etek 2 marker in exchange for advertising.  The Etek 2 was given to Craig Grindle, who served as my XO this past June in the scenario game “Revenge of a Nerd”.  During the negotiation of this deal, Planet also asked for advertising exposure on TheFordReport.Com, which I provided as a gesture of appreciation for their support of Mr. Grindle at “Revenge of a Nerd”.  I used my personally owned Ego 8 at that event, which I bought from GZ Paintball in South Carolina.   The Davidsons may be inferring compensation by Planet Eclipse due to the scenario team I’m a member of currently is in talks with Planet Eclipse to become a sponsored team for them in the Southeast.

Allegations that either kept or sold equipment given to me for review are a misrepresentation of facts as well.  Mr. Davidson himself has been given equipment that I didn’t have to send back after review.  Other equipment, including products from Tippmann were reviewed and then given away as part of NOCER Productions’ prize package at games.  A Save Phace mask I reviewed was also given away at a NOCER Game recently.

I suspect Mr. and Mrs. Davidson think that my current review fleet was given to me.  With the exception of the DYE Rotor, everything I currently have on review was either paid for or has to be returned to the manufacturer following the review.  If they would like me to pay them 51% of the value of the Rotor, I would be more than willing to do so.  Their insinuations that I have kept items or money from them are poorly disguised attempts to question my integrity.

With regards to Davidson’s allegations that I’m violating the non-compete clause in my contract, prevailing legal opinion is that non-competes are extremely hard to enforce in Florida, and given the Davidson’s repeated violations of the very contract they’re trying to hold over me, if they were so unwise as to initiate legal action against me personally, I would be vindicated in court and they would likely be vulnerable to countersuit due to their own misconduct during and after my tenure at 68Caliber.Com.

Their allegations that I’m violating the Corporate Opportunity Doctrine is a straw dog as well.  This particular doctrine is mainly applied to real estate partnerships, and isn’t relevant to the current situation with PBC Productions.   I suspect Mr.and Mrs. Davidson tried applying this doctrine in an attempt to justify their actions after performing rudimentary research into non-competes in Florida, and they discovered that they had a nearly unenforceable case.  Couple this with the fact that TheFordReport.Com currently has one paying advertiser (Money Paintball), while the others are either complimentary per my own policies or given in exchange for direct support of the website itself.  Mr. Navarro and Mr. Smith are the primary supporters of TheFordReport.Com collaberative effort, as noted in the “About” page at www.thefordreport.com.

This is my last statement on this subject.  I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my colleagues in the paintball media, my friends and associates in the paintball industry, and the grassroots players for deceiving them as to the true nature of the ownership of 68Caliber.Com.  Mr. and Mrs. Davidson insisted that their identities be held from the public for fear that Steve Davidson’s name and apparently toxic reputation damage the business.  Given their recent behavior, this may be a well-deserved reputation.