An angler in a fishing tournament in Rhode Island has a fish to fry with the officials. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
A fisherman in a Rhode Island tournament reeled in a 200 pound tuna in what would have been the fourth place finish, which would have earned him two hundred thousand dollars in prize money—except he failed the mandatory polygraph given to winners to ensure they’ve complied with the tournament rules, so he didn’t get the prize and has now filed a lawsuit.
What? A 200 pound fish is the fourth largest? There’s a place I won’t be swimming. Also, how can they give polygraph tests? Aren’t those illegal? Well, in the employment context it is illegal to force employees of private companies to take lie detector tests. And in most states polygraph tests are generally inadmissible in court to prove someone is lying. But in tournaments in which contestants agree in advance they’ll take a polygraph to prove they didn’t cheat if they win, they can’t later carp over the results.
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