Jake, I'd say that they are both at fault.

Obviously, other challengers said that they were unhappy with the protocol, but at least at that point, it was a protocol that allowed them to compete. You can't possibly think Larry has endeared himself with any of the professional sailors that have been forced to seek employment elsewhere, to say nothing of the investments of the team owners.

Of course, it's also a falure of Ernesto to come to the table to negotiate after the DoG challenge was made. Anyne who reads that original doc can see that BMWO never intended for it to go this far, they always left the door open to negotiate something more traditional. Once Ernesto called their bluff, they had to move forward with the tri.

The only people who "win" are multihull fans, not that there's anything wrong with that...

Mike