PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTAIL

ATAG vs TOM PLAYER

CASE DOCKET 4-13-2010

From the 4-13-2010 issue of the Nickelodeon, the official newsletter of the ATAG Tour:

Tom Player, wearing orange long pants, also made a cameo appearance after failing to
show up for the match, explaining that he was unavoidably detained at his art studio
and begging the Commissioner for forgiveness. Although he appeared to show remorse,
failing to show for an ATAG match (especially one that was overbooked) is an egregious
offense (just ask Marty Arnold) and can not go unpunished. Therefore, the Commissioner
has suspended the artsy Mr. Player for one match and ordered him to appear before the
ATAG Tribunal, a secret forum of ATAG judges who are specifically called upon to rule on
potential death penalty cases. Stay tuned.

From: Thomas A. Player [mailto:tap@mmmlaw.com]

Sent: Friday, April 16, 2010 1:48 PM
To: Don Nichols; Donald.L.Nichols@gmail.com
Subject: RE: 4-13-2010 ATAG Results

Mr. Commissioner:

Please advise the membership, as ATAG does not have the protection of a corporation or an
LLC, but all are jointly and severally liable, that as a professional athlete
(otherwise, how can anyone explain why I would have continued to play through my score on
Thursday) I have retained the services of Edward Garland (with Ben Roethlisberger's blessing)
and have notified the Player's Union (that is- of course- my wife) of the suspension. No decision
has been reached as to an appeal. All are still studying the documents. Tom

4-19-2010

Mr. Player,

Your one match suspension begins tomorrow with no appeal rights, and your veiled threat of
litigation will have no effect on the outcome of your trial before the ATAG Tribunal which begins
this week. I have presented the facts of the case to the judges on the secret panel who will decide
your ultimate fate for failing to show up for last week's match. You will be apprised of their
decision later this week.

Please give my best regards to Edward Garland and let him know that ATAG is being
represented pro bono by Charlie Cheetem of Cheetem and Screwem. Charlie has never lost a
case.

THE COMMISSIONER OF ATAG

4-21-2010

Dear Mr. Player,

The ATAG Tribunal, which is composed of the Commissioner as Presiding Judge and four
seasoned ATAGers whose identity, according to ATAG Bylaws, must remain anonymous due to
the sensitive and highly punitive nature of the cases brought before it, have reviewed the facts of
your case and, after much deliberation, the Tribunal has made the following ruling:

1. You will be suspended for one match effective retroactively to yesterday's match.

2. You must seek professional counseling of the nature necessary to resolve your inner conflict
of trying to be both an artist and a golfer on the ATAG Tour. As one judge put it, you appear to be
suffering from DID --Dissociate Identity Disorder--in that by missing last week's match you are
obviously unable to face the reality that you are an ATAGer first and an artist second and thus
you must find a way to separate these two conflicting personalities if you are going to continue on
the ATAG Tour.

3. In the interest of transparency and as a deterrent to potential future violations by other

ATAGers, the entire proceedings and deliberations by the respective judges and final ruling by
the Commissioner, all of which may be reviewed by scrolling down, are to be sent to the entire
ATAG roster including those on the stand by list.

4. You must cease any legal action against the Commissioner, the secret judges, or any
member of ATAG.

The judges weighed all the evidence surrounding your offense but all agreed that in view of your
popularity, your long standing membership in ATAG with no prior record or letters in your file, and
your ability to tell entertaining stories -- that a one match suspension with time served is sufficient
punishment for the offense in question. However, the judges likewise unanimously agreed that
you must undertake the recommended counseling or else face an intervention and possible
ultimate suspension from the ATAG Tour for a second offense.

I am pleased that the Court was able to render a merciful yet just verdict in your case and I look
forward to participating with you in many more ATAG matches.

ATAG Tribunal Proceedings: 4-20-2010

To: Honorable Judges of the ATAG Tribunal

I present before you the Case of ATAG vs Tom Player--Docket # 4-13-010.

FACTS:

1. On 4-13-010, ATAGer Tom Player failed to show for the match, causing the last group to
have to play as a threesome and have to rely on a draw partner which always delays the
determination of the outcome of the match.

2. The offense was made further egregious by the fact that 3 ATAGers were denied a spot in
the day's field, causing them great dismay.

3. Mr. Player explained that he had been unavoidably detained at an art studio where he had
stopped by prior to the match. However, in the pre-match pairings announcement on 4-12-010,
the Commissioner advised those who made the cut, of which Mr. Player was one, that the field
had been oversubscribed and that if a player was not sure he could make it, to please let the
Commissioner know. Mr. Player, knowing he had to make this stop at the studio, failed to take
into consideration that circumstances might arise that would preclude him from making his
scheduled tee time.

4. In Mr. Player's defense, he did call the Pro Shop and advised that he was running late and
asked to be moved down to the later tee time. The Commissioner obliged and Mr. Player was
moved down to the last group. Also, though he failed to show for the match, Mr. Player did make
a cameo appearance on the porch and apologized profusely and even proffered a joke that was
well received by the audience.

5. As you are aware, a "no notice, no show" at an ATAG match warrants the ATAG Death
Penalty which can only be rendered by the secret ATAG Tribunal. However, it appears we have a
gray area here in that Mr. Player, while giving notice of a late arrival , did not give notice that he
would not make it all which brings us to the matter before the Court.

6. Though Mr. Player has been suspended by the Commissioner for the next match, the
question remains as to which further punishment, if any, is in order in view of the serious nature
of the offense. Also, as you will note below, Mr. Player has threatened legal action towards joint
and several personal liability against the Commissioner and all members of ATAG.

I look forward to your guidance,

Sincerely,

The Commissioner

Deliberations:

Secret Judge # 1
Fellow Golfers, Ah, for the sake of Art. All of the great and talented artists have suffered for their
gift. Mr. Player is no exception. His “suffering”, should not involve something so drastic as losing
an ear; however, there must be a penalty for his failure to appear. Sports – an exacting science
requiring specific rules and regulations. Art – while demanding its own discipline operates in a
freer form, where time is not measured. Here, Mr. Player’s decisions demonstrate the clashing of
two worlds with distinctly different operational patterns.

While striving to stand with one foot planted firmly in the rigidity of Golf and the other foot slipping
on the moveable feast of Art, Tom P. allowed himself to be “unavoidably detained” in a studio.
Being the learned and astute individual we know him to be, it seems sure that when he chose to
visit the studio that his perspicacity regarding the unstructured nature of the world he was
entering gave rise to the chance he would miss his appointed tee time. As we judge this situation
and others we should in all ways lean on our similar experiences, the effort put forth by the
individual to follow the rules and the full ATAG membership of the party in question.

Consider all these factors:

1. Past offenders have received “time away from ATAG”.

2. Mr. Player did make the first call to announce he would be delayed.

3. Mr. Player is an ATAG member in longstanding and has bought and received many beers and
told many wonderful jokes and is in general a hail fellow well met.
Given such, I believe the one match suspension is fair and just and should be administered and
received immediately.

Secret Judge # 2
A complicated case if there ever was one. Here we have an appealing defendant with no prior
record who clearly realized he was heading down the slippery slope of the “no notice, no show”
policy. The call to the pro shop was admirable and clearly intended to mitigate potential
damages. The cameo, however, seems suspect. The appearance by the defendant, knowing he
was facing potentially severe consequences, could be seen as an effort to contaminate the pool
of future jurors. While the joke, on the other hand was entertaining, I do not think that in and of
itself, it was good enough to rise to the level of jury tampering.

A look at the underlying cause (an extended stop at an art studio) sheds little light except to note
that artists generally are subject to attention lapses which can diminish their normal reasoning
abilities. The defendant’s long legal career however suggests this was not an issue, and I am
troubled by his rather quick and unveiled attempt to bring his former career skills into play.

The damages in this case are clear, a worthy ATAGer was denied an opportunity to compete for
the trophy ale, however, given the defendants lack of any prior record and his efforts to notify the
commissioner, I am inclined to rule that the punishment already administered is adequate. That
said, I believe the court should be merciful and only impose the penalty on a day where we are
otherwise oversubscribed provided 1) the defendant immediately drops any legal action against
ATAG, its officers and directors and particularly the members of the Secret Tribunal and 2) in the
interest of transparency, the deliberations of the Tribunal are published in the newsletter as a
deterrent to future violators.

Secret Judge # 3
This is a very difficult case because I feel the ATAG community may have had some influence on
Mr. Player's situation. It appears Mr. Player is suffering from DID ( Dissociate Identity Disorder )
or multiple personalities. How else can one explain such casual behavior as Mr. Player
demonstrated by joining his fellow ATAGers on the porch for a beer and then tells a joke as if he
has not violated one of ATAG's most serious rules and the death penalty could be enforced at
any time. It is very obvious that Mr. Player is in & out of reality and is facing a personality crisis.

Mr. Player is in conflict with both Tom Player the golfer and Thomasangelo Playeratti the artist.
By creating the persona of Thomasangelo Playeratti his fellow ATAGers may have contributed to
his personality split.

On the day of the violation one can only imagine the torment Mr. Player must have experienced.
Starting out as an excited ATAGer looking forward to a great round of golf and then the
personality of Thomasangelo taking over and convincing Tom to stop by the studio for a brief
moment. Tom fights back and calls the Pro shop to explain he will be late. Once again
Thomasanglo takes over and wins the battle.

Professional counseling should be required to help Mr. Player face reality and understand he is
an ATAGer first and an artist second. I also recommend his fellow ATAGers not refer to him as
Thomasangelo Playeratti until the healing process has occurred.

Secret Judge # 4
Fellow Justices,
st
Thank you all for your thoughtful insights and your apparent forgiveness of 1 time defendant Don
Thomasangelo Playeratti aka. Tom Player confused/troubled/tormented erstwhile golfer. Leniency
is in order since Convict Arnold’s death sentence was only imposed after at least 3 “no notice no
show” violations. I believe Justice #3 has accurately analyzed our sometime ATAGer Tom
Player’s problem. He just can’t establish Tom’s identity over Thomasangelo’s identity long
enough to make only a 2-3 hour ATAG event. There is no doubt in my mind that counseling is in
order and should be so ordered by this Tribunal. However, I think that some additional positive
reinforcement of the counseling should be imposed. Therefore, I recommend that the
comprehensive punishment be as follows:

1) A one match suspension to be served on an oversubscribed day Tom Player answers

the call for players.

2) Intense counseling for Thomasangelo to keep him in the studio on Tuesdays and let
Tom take over, if only for a few hours.

3) Thomasangelo should be helped and encouraged to let Tom emerge as a golfer by

ordering him to sculpt, in bronze, a life size statue of “the Commissioner”, including bag and
clubs, to be completed before any more work in the studio is allowed. Said statue to be
permanently displayed on the ATAG porch. Properly channeling Thomasangelo’s activities will be
the key to getting Tom out of the studio and on the 1st tee on time.

4-20-21

Thank you honorable judges for your wisdom. I will send an e-mail to Mr. Player later this
afternoon (with a blind copy to each of you) that summarizes the ruling by the ATAG
Tribunal including each of your commentaries.

As the Commissioner and thus the Presiding Judge in this Tribunal, I will invoke your
recommendations except that I am overturning the recommendation by Judge # 2 and Judge # 4
that Mr. Player be suspended for what would be an additional match since his one match
suspension was imposed and served in this week's ATAG match. I am also going to reject Judge
# 4's recommendation that Mr. Player construct a life size bronze sculpture of the Commissioner
to be displayed on the ATAG Porch. While I appreciate the gesture, I believe such a complicated
piece of art work would be so strenuous and time consuming that it would allow the
Thomasangelo persona to completely take over Mr. Player and totally counteract the intense
counseling designed to bring Mr. Player back to reality as a member of the ATAG Tour. Besides,
there is not enough room on the porch to display what would be such a momentous piece of art.

Sincerely,
THE COMMISSIONER