But several poker professionals as well as other people have talked about how that issue was handled, flashing cards and talking about what he had is not supposed to be done in tournaments.

I'm not really talking about ethics, ethics in a poker game can be discussed for ages without getting anywhere, I'm talking about general etiquette and playing a fair game. There's supposed to be one player per hand, your not suppose to help players in their decisions agains other players, by flashing your cards, talking about the hand, talking about one of the players involved or anything like that. I'm sure this stuff also depend on which stakes you're playing, since there are more new players at lower stakes after all and it's probably not taken too seriously there. Also, different cardrooms and casinos react differently, but most places in a fairly high stakes game I'm sure a player who kept doing this stuff would have people complain and eventually would be thrown out.