3 balls fail testing before the show and the lane man fired after the show

Where are you getting this information?  Link please.

It's posted on Jeff Richgels 11th Frame blog. (You need to be a subscriber to read the whole story.) Both instances. 

https://www.11thframe.com/news/article/13358/3-balls-used-during-2022-KIA-PBA-Tournament-of-Champions-fail-pre-TV

https://www.11thframe.com/news/article/13361/Sean-Parry-says-he-was-fired-as-PBA-lane-man-PBA-Commissioner?filter=all

With regards to the lane man, this could just be the case of a publicly held company doing what publicly held companies do all the time.  Keep expenses as low as possible to please the shareholders. Florida is an at will employment state as well, so Bowlero technically doesn't have to offer a reason for terminating employment.  Probably no story here, just that it came during the tournament weekend.

The Purple Hammer is a whole other issue.  Some bowlers have known and complained that the ball tends to soften up over time.  I am not sure the USBC minimum hardness specification applies to anything other than when the ball is brand new.  As long as the test sampling of balls meet spec, they will be USBC approved.  Maybe a shipment of balls will magically show up on the USBC's door similar to what happened with the Jackal.  Who knows.  There have also been unconfirmed rumors that the Purple Hammer is going to be discontinued soon anyway, so it may not be much of an issue in the near future.

The PBA is going to have to decide if they will continue to allow the Purple Hammer to be used in competition.  The strangest thing about the current rule is that the balls get checked before the finals, but bowlers can use them during qualifying and match play.  Why allow bowlers to use potentially non-compliant equipment to reach the finals?  That makes no sense and it kind of validates Sean Rash's grievances [not how he personally handled the situation.]  ALL balls should be checked during tournament check in, prior to the start of each new round/after each cut, and again before the finals.  Be consistent.

With regards to the lane man, this could just be the case of a publicly held company doing what publicly held companies do all the time.  Keep expenses as low as possible to please the shareholders. Florida is an at will employment state as well, so Bowlero technically doesn't have to offer a reason for terminating employment.  Probably no story here, just that it came during the tournament weekend.

The Purple Hammer is a whole other issue.  Some bowlers have known and complained that the ball tends to soften up over time.  I am not sure the USBC minimum hardness specification applies to anything other than when the ball is brand new.  As long as the test sampling of balls meet spec, they will be USBC approved.  Maybe a shipment of balls will magically show up on the USBC's door similar to what happened with the Jackal.  Who knows.  There have also been unconfirmed rumors that the Purple Hammer is going to be discontinued soon anyway, so it may not be much of an issue in the near future.

The PBA is going to have to decide if they will continue to allow the Purple Hammer to be used in competition.  The strangest thing about the current rule is that the balls get checked before the finals, but bowlers can use them during qualifying and match play.  Why allow bowlers to use potentially non-compliant equipment to reach the finals?  That makes no sense and it kind of validates Sean Rash's grievances [not how he personally handled the situation.]  ALL balls should be checked during tournament check in, prior to the start of each new round/after each cut, and again before the finals.  Be consistent.

As a resident of Florida; most companies are not going to fire you just because even though it is an at will employment state.  What companies do like to do down here; is use staffing agencies to rotate employees in and out.  They list positions as "3 month or 6 month contract" or "temp to perm" positions when in fact they are permanent positions within the company but will rotate employees out so they dont have to offer any benefits.  I have fallen victim to this a few times since my move down here and now refuse to use staffing agencies to help find jobs.  Thankfully I am at a place where my job feels secure and it was a direct hire as opposed to obtaining it through an agency.  Regarding Sean Parry; something had to happen for him to get let go.  While we do not know the specifics; I seriously doubt this was an attempt to cut costs because bowling is thriving down here.  At my home house just south of Spring Hill where Sean is from; we have a league that is 44 teams and 4 member teams on Thursdays and the center is full when I am bowling league on Mondays.  Plus, they also run a tournament virtually every weekend which also fills the center.  First year touring pro, Trevor Roberts, has a Youtube channel and he does his ball reviews from that same Spring Hill bowling center and be willing to bet he knows Sean pretty well.  Another tidbit is the PBA South Regional Tour is stopping in Spring Hill this July.  So something had to happen.

If the comments made by Mitch Beasley on the Purple Hammers is validated, there is absolutely no way in my mind the PBA or USBC can continue to allow the USA made Purple Hammers in competition. When the narrative goes from balls getting soft over time to balls that came from the production line too soft, everything changes IMO. This is going to be a massive topic for the PBA to have to address.

Full USBC enforcement of the 73D hardness standard is effective 7/31/22.  After this date, manufacturers will no longer be permitted to manufacture additional quantities of ANY ball previously approved below the 73D standard.  I have heard rumors that the Purple Hammer falls under this and will cease production as a result.

This lends credence to the Black, Purple Solid, and Red Pearl Urethanes showing up on the USBC Approved List as of late December 2021/early January 2022. However, an argument against those being catalog balls is that thought I saw the Black Urethane in an overseas video. We'll wait and see.

BL.

It is interesting that the minimum hardness spec was increased from 72D to 73D.  Is that really that significant of a change?  If it is, it is also interesting that balls previously approved at 72D will be grandfathered in and maintain their approval status.

Has anyone actually heard what hardness these non-compliant Purple Hammers were reading at when tested?