Zane Navratil Fires Back at Collin Johns' MLP Letter

Adam Forziati

Team The Kitchen

Last Edited

Aug 02 2024

Category

News

Earlier this week, a reportedly-leaked email from Collin Johns explaining his distaste for Major League Pickleball's format contained quite a few points that explored the nuance of the league's strengths and weaknesses.

I unpacked most of Collin's opinions, agreeing with him regarding his points about the overall production quality and lighting but finding fault with most of his other ideas.

Now, another top pro player is speaking out: Zane Navratil, the "MLP GOAT," released his letter in response.

It begins: "I love MLP for a variety of reasons," and each of the ensuing reasons reads like purposeful retorts to Collin's main points.

Note: I strongly feel we should not attack Collin just for speaking out about something he believes in. I'd even say that takes courage, and that a top-ranked player like him actually has a responsibility to do so in the context of a developing sport like pickleball.

Julian Arnold, another high ranking pro, chimed in:

"...As someone who tries to voice his opinion as much as possible in order to better the game of pickleball, I feel for Collin," Julian says in an Instagram statement.

"...What we should be thinking about is: who leaked this email that was clearly written in confidentiality?"

It's a fair question, one I'd like to echo as the community continues to chat about this in forums and podcasts.

Julian told me that while he does not support Collin's on-court behavior, saying his teammates are bottom tier, or how he chose to communicate his opinions, it was still unprofessional to leak this correspondence which was clearly sent in confidence.

Critically, Zane's letter and Julian's response to the topic both demonstrate thoughtfulness, something which Collin's lacks to some extent.

Here are a few of points which I feel highlight the differences between Zane's approach and Collin's:

Zane: "The scoring system ensures that every point matters."

"I don't disagree that the scoring system could potentially favor underdogs in individual games due to a lesser amount of rallies," Zane continues.

Rally Scoring has been a contentious differentiator since MLP introduced it a couple years ago.

But Zane follows up with evidence, something that for whatever reason Collin could not do.

"According to Real Clear Stats, the team that reaches game point first wins the match 89.4% of the time in the current MLP format. In competitive PPA matches, the team that reaches game point first wins only slightly more often-91.3% of the time."

Is it OK not to enjoy Rally Scoring regardless? Of course! Is there room to critique or improve it? Without question.

But does Rally Scoring in its current iteration grossly favor the "lesser" team, as Collin purports? There's currently no hard evidence to support it.

Zane: "...if a top level player like Ben is truly at the mercy of his weaker teammates, shouldn't they be unsuccessful in [MLP]?"

This is in response to Collin's claim that pairing "bottom tier" players with a top-tier player like Ben Johns punishes the more talented player.

While the Johns Bros. aren't having the best 2024 season in MLP, their track record is far from poor, as Zane explains.

"Prior to 2024, Ben had won 50% of MLP events that he had participated in...Winning the championship 50% of the time seems like a pretty good record to me..."

He then compares a 50% championship win record to some of the greatest athletes of all time:

Michael Jordan - 40%
Lebron James - 19%
Tom Brady - 30%
Babe Ruth - 32%
Wayne Gretzky - 20%
Novak Djokovic - 32%

"50% doesn't look bad for somebody that's held hostage by bad teammates," Zane concludes.

Zane: "...it would be unbelievably foolish to stifle the passion that makes MLP unique."

Collin described the player, spectator, and stakeholder conduct at recent MLP events as "shameful" and unprofessional (though you can make that judgement for yourself by seeing an example here).

He and Zane are at a crossroads there, too.

"Understanding that, at the end of the day, we're paid to be entertainers, which player is more professional? The quarterfinal jackass giving it 110% or the disinterested superstar?"

The Takeaway is Clear

Though a couple of Collin's points seemed valid and easy to corroborate, many of them lacked much logic or evidence.

Collin didn't simply spit out a few frustration-induced words out of pocket. He took the time to write a long, multifaceted report of his feelings about MLP and its format. And he started it all with the words, "I despise MLP..."

Regardless of whether these alleged criticisms from Collin were ever meant to be seen by the public, it is doubtful they were meant for his eyes only.

With their calculating style of play, top-ranked status, and the mystique our community has placed on them, the Johns Bros. have garnered a reputation as the "smart" players.

But even if their dominance wasn't also associated with a high IQ, shouldn't we expect better conduct and, more importantly, better-constructed criticism from those who are at the top of the game?

Zane certainly thinks so:

"Balls, venues, paddle testing, refereeing, rules, etc. are all legitimate areas for improvement, however a non-fact based attack on the concept of team pickleball as a whole isn't constructive.

"Prior to becoming a professional pickleball player, I was a CPA working 70 hours per week. I NEVER forget how lucky I am to be able to chase the Vulcan ball around as a profession. Some people are even lucky enough to make millions doing so."

UPDATE 8/2/2024:

Less than 48 hours after the initial leaked communication was posted online, Collin Johns has posted on an Instagram story providing an explanation for part of the situation: