An Update on the IFPA and the OBX Fall Flippers Event

Kineticist·article·analyzed·Nov 15, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

IFPA declines to revoke OBX tournament sanctioning after trans harassment incident, sparking Women's Board resignation.

Summary

The IFPA faced significant controversy following a harassment incident at the OBX Fall Flippers tournament involving discriminatory behavior toward the trans community. After initial miscommunication about whether the situation was resolved, the IFPA decided not to revoke event sanctioning post-tournament, citing concerns about maintaining organizational credibility and consistency with prior communications to organizers. The Women's Advisory Board resigned in protest over this decision.

Key Claims

An on-site IFPA Director was empowered by Josh Sharpe to pull event sanctioning if necessary to resolve the incident
high confidence · Josh Sharpe statement quoted in article; documented in IFPA Slack conversation
At 3 PM on Friday, the on-site IFPA Director relayed 'We got it sorted,' which was ambiguously interpreted by different staff members
high confidence · Article documents the miscommunication; Adam Becker's email clarifies the two interpretations
The IFPA had previously revoked tournament sanctioning or adjusted WPPR eligibility after events concluded when warranted
high confidence · Adam Becker confirmed 'Yes' when asked if IFPA had done this before
Josh Sharpe acknowledged in hindsight the correct decision would have been to immediately pull sanctioning when informed of the incident
high confidence · Direct quote from Josh Sharpe's statement provided in article
The Women's Advisory Board's recommendations for handling the incident were dismissed by IFPA leadership
high confidence · Article notes Women's Board resigned on November 20th; Adam Becker states recommendations were dismissed
Becky Connell was the person responsible for the discriminatory/harassing behavior at OBX
high confidence · Article describes 'hate-fueled, discriminatory actions of Becky Connell'
IFPA staff participated in the entire weekend of the event after being assured by other staff it was resolved
high confidence · Adam Becker email: 'our staff participated in the entire weekend of the event'
The incident involved harassment targeting the trans community
high confidence · Multiple references: 'hate towards the trans community,' 'discriminatory actions,' Gender Inclusion policy violation

Notable Quotes

“We can pull sanctioning of events for whatever we want, whenever we want, even after the fact.”
Josh Sharpe, IFPA President @ 9:21 AM update — Establishes IFPA's regulatory authority to retroactively withdraw event sanctioning
“In hindsight the correct decision was for me to simply pull sanctioning from the event IMMEDIATELY when the issue was brought to our attention in the Slack channel.”
Josh Sharpe, IFPA President @ Update statement — Direct acknowledgment that IFPA made the wrong decision by not pulling sanctioning immediately
“Once it was made clear that the issue had been resolved, everyone stood down. No further messages were received or sent until Monday and things were made abundantly clear that not only was it not resolved, but had escalated well beyond.”
Adam Becker, IFPA Director @ Email to author — Explains the cascading failure: false assurance led to stand-down, then discovery of escalation without ability to reverse decision
“We told the organizers everything was fine, our staff did that, our staff participated in the entire weekend of the event. Removing sanction doesn't fix anything, it removes any credibility we would ever have.”
Adam Becker, IFPA Director @ Email to author — Core rationale for not revoking sanctioning: maintaining organizational credibility and trust
“The recommendations from the women's board removed all responsibility from the IFPA and our role in this incident occurring.”
Adam Becker, IFPA Director @ Email to author — Explains IFPA's dismissal of Women's Advisory Board recommendations; indicates board wanted IFPA held accountable
“In all honesty it doesn't, but as I've said above this isn't about who could or couldn't play, this is about what we as an organization told the organizers of this event that they were ok to move forward.”
Adam Becker, IFPA Director @ Email to author — Acknowledges decision conflicts with stated Gender Inclusion policies but justifies it on organizational consistency grounds
“I hate that this is the position we are in.”

Entities

IFPAorganization Josh SharpepersonAdam BeckerpersonBecky ConnellpersonOBX Fall FlipperseventWomen's Advisory BoardorganizationKineticistpersonOn-site IFPA Directorperson

Signals

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business_signal: IFPA internal credibility crisis and potential structural damage from poor crisis management and contradictory statements to tournament organizers
high · Adam Becker: 'Removing sanction doesn't fix anything, it removes any credibility we would ever have' - suggests IFPA prioritizing organizational reputation over policy enforcement
?
community_signal: Major IFPA governance crisis triggered by trans harassment at OBX tournament and organizational mishandling of response; Women's Advisory Board resignation in protest
high · Women's Advisory Board resigned November 20th; heated Discord debate with personal attacks and violence threats; article documents three days of internal deliberation before dismissing board recommendations
?
community_signal: Failure of institutional communication channels (Discord, Slack, email) to prevent escalation and maintain clarity about incident resolution status
high · 3 PM 'We got it sorted' message ambiguously interpreted; IFPA staff stood down on false assumption; no communication Friday-Monday until situation 'escalated well beyond'
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sentiment_shift: Significant negative sentiment shift in pinball community regarding IFPA's handling of discrimination and harassment; trust erosion among players advocating for accountability
high · Women's Board dismissal; 'unpopular decision with many IFPA players'; author notes decision 'rightly or wrongly' reflects organizational prioritization of credibility over accountability
?
community_signal: Implicit shift in IFPA leadership authority and decision-making: Josh Sharpe delegated full power to on-site Director, then later took full responsibility for incorrect delegation

Topics

Community Safety and HarassmentprimaryTrans Inclusion and Gender EquityprimaryIFPA Governance and Decision-MakingprimaryOrganizational Credibility vs. AccountabilityprimaryWPPR Sanctioning and Tournament RulessecondaryInternal Organizational Communication FailuressecondaryWomen's Advisory Board Role and AuthoritysecondaryCrisis Management and Escalationsecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.75)— Article documents serious organizational failure and community harm. While author attempts balanced analysis and acknowledges complexity, the core subject matter is deeply negative: trans harassment, botched institutional response, Women's Board resignation in protest. Author's tone is measured and analytical rather than outraged, but the factual content is deeply damaging to IFPA's reputation and mission credibility.

Transcript

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Note: an update has been shared on Saturday, November 15th with new information and a statement from the IFPA. Note: an update has been shared on Thursday, November 20th, following the resignation of the IFPA Women's Advisory Board and their statement. Since we reported yesterday on the controversies surrounding the harassment incident at the OBX Fall Flippers tournament and the fallout from the IFPA communications surrounding it, a lot of new information has surfaced. Arguably, the most significant update is one shared by IFPA President Josh Sharpe at 9:21 AM this morning, after hours of silence in the IFPA’s official Discord, where a mix of heated debate and earnest protest occurred in the hours between announcements. Debate in the IFPA Discord grew increasingly volatile throughout the day, with several posts escalating into personal attacks and threats of violence. Out of respect for those involved, I’m avoiding specifics that could compromise anyone’s privacy. In the update, Josh provides additional context on the incident and their thought process regarding its resolution and outcome, including references to a leaked internal Slack conversation documenting real-time conversations as the situation unfolded. When the IFPA team was made aware of the incident on Friday morning, an attending IFPA Director was empowered by Josh Sharpe to do whatever was necessary to resolve the issue, up to and including pulling event sanctioning. As Josh states in the screenshot, “We can pull sanctioning of events for whatever we want, whenever we want, even after the fact. If there’s an issue with TD’s following our rules for sanctioning, then our communication should be with the TD on those issues. That TD then has to deal with the venue as to whatever hurdles exist to make sure our rules are followed.” This is where I believe communication within the IFPA falters. At about 3 pm the on-site IFPA Director relays a message that “We got it sorted.” What was perhaps less clear to some was what exactly that meant for the situation. To some, it meant that the threat of immediate danger had been removed (Becky’s shift ended at 3 pm). To others, it meant the situation was totally resolved and the IFPA could continue supporting an officially sanctioned tournament. As IFPA Director Adam Becker communicated to me in an email, responding to questions I had sent, “Once it was made clear that the issue had been resolved, everyone stood down. No further messages were received or sent until Monday and things were made abundantly clear that not only was it not resolved, but had escalated well beyond, had that information been made available on Friday, we wouldn’t be having this discussion, sanction would be removed.” To their credit, the IFPA and Josh Sharpe own that this was an incorrect move. As he notes in his statement, “In hindsight the correct decision was for me to simply pull sanctioning from the event IMMEDIATELY when the issue was brought to our attention in the Slack channel. While giving my full authority to the IFPA Director on site to do whatever was necessary, I take full responsibility for putting that IFPA Director in that situation, even with the full arsenal of IFPA power behind her in those moments.” Why wasn’t the sanctioning pulled from the event after the fact? I asked Adam if the IFPA had ever revoked the sanctioning of a tournament or adjusted points eligibility after a tournament had concluded, and pertinent information that would warrant these changes was shared with the team. He stated, “Yes, but what has never happened before is an IFPA staff member assures other IFPA staff members that an incident is resolved, the TD is made aware that they are free to continue with their event with no concerns and then we revoke sanction. That remains the crux of this issue, I wish this incident didn't involve hate towards the trans community, I wish we had done a better job, I hate the harm this has caused to them, but removing sanction doesn't fix that, we told the organizers everything was fine, our staff did that, our staff participated in the entire weekend of the event. Removing sanction doesn't fix anything, it removes any credibility we would ever have, no one could ever ask us for help and not expect a different result than what we said.” While an unpopular decision with many IFPA players, I think this is the way that the IFPA has determined as the best way to own their mistake while maintaining perceived decision-making credibility. Essentially, if the IFPA says they are going to do something, and then do that thing, that’s how it’s going to be, and I think the hope is that the decisions that are made in the first place are the correct ones. They aren’t always. Adam reinforced this line of thinking when I asked him how this decision aligns with the IFPA’s own policies around WPPR eligibility and Gender Inclusion. “In all honesty it doesn't, but as I've said above this isn't about who could or couldn't play, this is about what we as an organization told the organizers of this event that they were ok to move forward, that no action would be taken and everything has been resolved. I can't stress enough how much I hate that this is the position we are in.” Framed in this context, rightly or wrongly, this may be why, after three days of internal deliberation, the recommendations of the Women’s Advisory Board were dismissed and an alternate path was chosen instead. As he told me, “The recommendations from the women's board removed all responsibility from the IFPA and our role in this incident occurring.” As I sit on the umpteenth draft of this update this evening, I think ultimately where I’m landing is that there is no perfect solution for the IFPA, its players, or those affected by the hate-fueled, discriminatory actions of Becky Connell. Everyone, in different ways, was put into impossible situations and made decisions to the best of their abilities with the information and resources available at the time. Some of those decisions were wrong. Hopefully, this can be a learning experience and a catalyst for positive change within the community, one that more closely aligns with the IFPA’s stated mission–”fostering a pinball community where EVERYONE, regardless of gender identity, expression, or background, feels welcome, safe, and valued.”