The new “Around the Post” show, hosted by “Jonny Pickleball” and pickleball pro Kyle Yates, is must-watch. In the premiere episode, the two co-hosts decry USA Pickleball (USAPA) as an out-of-touch, unaccountable star chamber.

Jonny Pickleball started the broadside, stating, “honestly, I don’t even know why they’re still around, personally.”

Yates piled on, alleging that USAPA makes rules changes in secret meetings without the consent of its members:

A partial excerpt:

“I’ve been trying to grow the sport for a decade now — ten years — and I’m truly amazed at how far it has come. It has changed quite a bit. But we have to choose carefully how we keep progressing. Over the years I’ve seen so many rule changes that not only fail to solve any issues but seem to only create new problems, while obvious flaws were never addressed. My issues are not entirely with the rule changes themselves, of which I have plenty of concerns, but rather to what disrection is used to make when making these changes. Remember the phrase ‘no taxation without representation’? Well, King George was changing rules without the consent of the people. And here in the sport of pickleball we have an oligarchical rules committee changing rules and shaping the sport without the consent of its members.”

The podcast is filled with gems. During a discussion of players who stretch the rules, Yates mentioned that he once blew a ball over the net. Yes, you read that right. He blew the ball over the net. Don’t believe it? Here’s the video: