Soon after the dress code issue was reported on, the president of the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA), Belinda Bearden, sent a letter to "The New York Times". Bearden wrote that the facts were different than reported. The WPBA stated the dress code was decided by the women players for themselves. They made the rules to improve the image of women's pool and to attract a larger audience and more press to the sport. They said that Balukas was the only woman at the event who was not willing to follow the rule. They also explained that Balukas first left from the women's division. They said that she came back to play after the list of who would play who was already completed. Another vote on whether she could play went 8–7 in Balukas' favor. However, after they asked a player who was absent from the first vote, Balukas withdrew from the women's division of the competition.