Jeopardy: kid player says he was ‘cheated’ out of getting credit for correct answer

Thomas Hurley III, age 12, says misspelling his answer shouldn’t have disqualified him. Connecticut boy flubbed Final Jeopardy question

Thomas Hurley III, disqualified from 'Jeopardy!' for bad spelling, says he now feels cheated.

Spelling doesn’t count, says eighth-grader Thomas Hurley.

The Newtown, Conn., boy is angry he got disqualified from the last round of “Jeopardy!” during the game show’s Kid Week.

His answer was correct, but he wrongly spelled the document in which Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery, writing its title as the “Emanciptation Proclamation.”

That got him disqualified and dropped his winnings to $6,600, far behind the winner’s $66,600.

“I was pretty upset that I was cheated out of the final ‘Jeopardy!’ question,” the 12-year-old told The News-Times of Danbury. “It was just a spelling error.”

His experience also set off a flurry of complaints on the show’s Facebook page, with some saying they would boycott the popular, brainy quiz program.

“With this ruling against Thomas Hurley over something so miniscule I will no longer watch this show and will tell as many people as possible to not watch it also,” reads one post.

“Boooooo! Jeopadary producers, you should be ashamed of yourselves,” reads another, which like Hurley’s answer, contains a misspelling.

Hurley’s mother, Suzanne, said her son was “a little stunned” by losing. “He felt embarrassed. It was hard to watch,” she said.

“Jeopardy!” producers sent an email defending the decision of host Alex Trebek to disqualify Hurley.

“If ‘Jeopardy!’ were to give credit for an incorrect response (however minor), the show would effectively penalize the other players.”

With News Wire Services



source : nydailynews

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