# New Information and an IFPA Statement on the OBX Fall Flippers Incident **Source:** Kineticist **Type:** article **Published:** 2025-12-04 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.kineticist.com/news/new-info-obx-fall-flippers --- ## Analysis Following the OBX Fall Flippers incident involving alleged harassment by a Flippers Arcade employee, the IFPA releases detailed Slack screenshots and a statement from Andy Bagwell defending the decision-making process and rejecting accusations of bigotry or discrimination. The statement emphasizes shared organizational responsibility for failures in communication and guidance to the event organizer, while acknowledging online harassment and bullying directed at IFPA leadership. The analysis concludes that IFPA leadership acted in good faith despite handling challenges poorly. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The harassment incident was perpetrated by Flippers employee Becky Connell — _Kineticist article, attributed to author reviewing evidence_ - [HIGH] IFPA confirmed the OBX event could continue and would be sanctioned during the event itself — _Andy Bagwell statement in article_ - [HIGH] IFPA staff participated in the event the weekend after the incident — _Andy Bagwell statement in article_ - [MEDIUM] IFPA leadership received private support from players including members of the trans community who fear public retaliation — _Andy Bagwell statement; notes private support unverified in public record_ - [HIGH] The entire IFPA organization must accept responsibility for OBX failures, not just one person — _Andy Bagwell statement in article_ - [HIGH] Screenshots were authorized to be shared by Josh Sharpe without knowledge or consent of all parties involved — _Author's note in article_ ### Notable Quotes > "I do not believe either was actively working towards goals of discrimination, silencing viewpoints, or, frankly, bigotry of any form." > — **Kineticist author (Colin)**, article body > _Core thesis: IFPA leadership acting in good faith despite poor communication outcomes_ > "The OBX decision was a total failure on the IFPA as a whole. The women members of the staff were not willing to allow that blame to be laid at their feet as well." > — **Andy Bagwell**, statement in article > _Key admission of institutional failure with explicit note about gender dynamics within IFPA leadership_ > "Those players stayed and participated because they were told the event would be sanctioned by the IFPA." > — **Andy Bagwell**, statement in article > _Establishes that IFPA communications directly influenced player participation decisions_ > "Josh and Adam are not bigots, and neither am I." > — **Andy Bagwell**, statement in article > _Direct rebuttal to online accusations of bigotry against IFPA leadership_ > "The people pushing this hatred campaign online are either being misled or willfully malicious, and it needs to stop." > — **Andy Bagwell**, statement in article > _Frames online criticism as a 'hatred campaign' and calls for accountability from critics_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | IFPA | organization | International Flipper Pinball Association; governing body for competitive pinball tournaments; central to OBX Fall Flippers incident response | | Josh Sharpe | person | IFPA President; authorized release of Slack screenshots without full party consent; named as target of harassment campaign accusations | | Andy Bagwell | person | IFPA Director; issued statement defending OBX decision-making; claims shared institutional responsibility | | Adam Becker | person | IFPA Director; involved in OBX decision-making; defended in statement as acting in good faith | | Becky Connell | person | Flippers Arcade employee; perpetrator of harassment incident at OBX Fall Flippers event | | OBX Fall Flippers | event | Pinball tournament event where harassment incident occurred; IFPA sanctioning decision became center of community controversy | | Flippers Arcade | venue | Location of OBX Fall Flippers event; venue where harassment by employee Becky Connell took place | | Colin | person | Kineticist author/analyst; reviewed evidence and Slack screenshots; authored this statement piece | | Kineticist | organization | Pinball media outlet and newsletter; published this analysis and IFPA statement | | This Week in Pinball | organization | Pinball industry newsletter; Colin contributes; likely covered OBX incident in original reporting | ### Topics - **Primary:** OBX Fall Flippers incident and IFPA response, Community harassment and online discourse management, IFPA decision-making transparency and institutional accountability, Allegations of bigotry and discrimination in tournament governance - **Secondary:** IFPA leadership credibility and public trust, Slack communications and internal evidence disclosure ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) ### Signals - **[community_signal]** IFPA leadership releases detailed evidence package and statement to defend handling of OBX incident and counter bigotry allegations; signals attempt to restore community confidence after sustained criticism (confidence: high) — Andy Bagwell statement: 'I think that the only fair thing to do at this point is lay everything out to be seen and judged.' - **[community_signal]** IFPA leadership claims sustained online harassment, bullying, and 'hatred campaign' by critics; notes fear among supporters (including trans community) to speak publicly (confidence: medium) — Andy Bagwell: 'They have all also shared the same sentiment, that they are afraid to post that support publicly because they will be targeted' - **[industry_signal]** Core disagreement over IFPA sanctioning decisions during/after harassment incidents; questions about institutional accountability and decision-making authority (confidence: high) — Andy Bagwell: 'The IFPA failed the organizer...The entire IFPA organization must accept responsibility' - **[competitive_signal]** Dispute centered on IFPA's sanctioning confirmation during event despite ongoing harassment incident; conflicting communications to organizer and players (confidence: high) — Andy Bagwell: 'IFPA confirmed the event could continue and would be sanctioned to this organizer during the event. IFPA staff onsite even confirmed to players that asked that the event would still be sanctioned.' - **[industry_signal]** IFPA acknowledges shared institutional failure in handling incident, with explicit note that female staff members resisted accepting blame individually (confidence: high) — Andy Bagwell: 'The women members of the staff were not willing to allow that blame to be laid at their feet as well' - **[sentiment_shift]** Narrative shift attempting to rehabilitate IFPA leadership reputation by presenting evidence of good-faith decision-making; frames online critics as 'misled or willfully malicious' (confidence: high) — Colin analysis: 'At no point does it appear that Adam was acting in bad faith...everyone involved in handling that situation from the IFPA side was doing their best' - **[community_signal]** IFPA releases Slack screenshots without full consent of all parties; editorial note clarifies some names redacted after publication per request (confidence: high) — Author note: 'These screenshots were authorized to be shared and published by Josh Sharpe without the knowledge or consent of all parties. After publishing some names have been redacted at the request of those individuals.' - **[event_signal]** IFPA staff presence at event continued after harassment incident; organizer received real-time IFPA guidance confirming event sanctioning (confidence: high) — Andy Bagwell: 'IFPA staff participated in the event that weekend after the incident' --- ## Transcript Like what you're reading? Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox. Get pinball news, analysis, and deep dives delivered to your inbox. After review and combined with all the other context I have about this incident, regarding the IFPA’s decision-making and motivations for certain communications decisions, a lot more is clear to me now. The logic Adam shared throughout the discussions seems straightforward and easy to follow. At no point does it appear that Adam was acting in bad faith or in a discriminatory or unreasonable manner. Though both Josh and Andy Bagwell are mostly silent in the Slack screenshots, I do not believe either was actively working towards goals of discrimination, silencing viewpoints, or, frankly, bigotry of any form. Knowing all of this now, it’s tough to re-examine some of the discussions on the IFPA Discord and elsewhere, which sometimes crossed into bullying and harassment of members of the IFPA team, others with differing views on how the sanctioning process should be handled, and those affected by the harassment incident and its immediate fallout. I still find the incident at Flippers Arcade, perpetrated by Flippers employee Becky Connell, reprehensible and awful, and I wish we didn’t live in a world where that kind of treatment of others was commonplace. But I do believe that everyone involved in handling that situation from the IFPA side was doing their best in a challenging and stressful situation. These images were provided to me by Andy Bagwell (IFPA Director), Adam Becker (IFPA Director), and Josh Sharpe (IFPA President). Alongside the images, Andy Bagwell, with the support of Adam and Josh, had this to say: “I've stayed quiet and watched all of the discourse, and having now seen my own local players call Josh and Adam (and the IFPA) bigots I realized I can't stay quiet anymore. Josh and Adam are not bigots, and neither am I. I think that the only fair thing to do at this point is lay everything out to be seen and judged. The OBX decision was a total failure on the IFPA as a whole. The women members of the staff were not willing to allow that blame to be laid at their feet as well. One person is not to blame, the IFPA failed the organizer. All of the IFPA. The organizer was immediately in contact with the IFPA after the incident and rightfully trusted us to guide them. The IFPA confirmed the event could continue and would be sanctioned to this organizer during the event. IFPA staff onsite even confirmed to players that asked that the event would still be sanctioned. Those players stayed and participated because they were told the event would be sanctioned by the IFPA. IFPA staff participated in the event that weekend after the incident. The entire IFPA organization must accept responsibility for those failures. We have received a ton of private support on our decision with OBX, from players of all genders, including the trans community. They have all also shared the same sentiment, that they are afraid to post that support publicly because they will be targeted by the people that have been attacking Josh and Adam. I would encourage those people to speak out and show that support publicly, whether or not you have reached out to us yet. The people pushing this hatred campaign online are either being misled or willfully malicious, and it needs to stop. The attempts at communication up to this point were attempts to be civil, the response to that has been anything but. So again, I think the best course of action at this point is to lay out everything and allow you to make your own determinations. I do not think that the minds of the people who are made up on us being hateful bigots will change, but this is more about showing the community at large that we are not that.” Note: These screenshots were authorized to be shared and published by Josh Sharpe without the knowledge or consent of all parties. After publishing some names have been redacted at the request of those individuals. Any safety reports by individuals were made public prior, e.g. here and in widely shared public Facebook posts. Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New Robert Englunds Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New Robert Englunds. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director. _(Acquisition: web_scrape, Enrichment: v4)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 6e930df3-9b85-4b33-b198-3406b580db5d*