The Tale of the Guy Who Dumped his Team

For the final piece of our series on being a commissioner, I'd like to go over handling troublemaker owners and then add in some playoff tips. I hope you've all found these posts useful, if not today, then some day in the future when you look to run your own league. If you aren't currently satisfied with your league, I highly recommend going down this route. It's the only way to ensure you play in a fun and competitive environment.

In 2005 I ran into an issue that I truly hope none of you ever face. Looking back on it, I think it was a good experience to go through as I learned how to deal with a crisis, but at the time it was disastrous.

You see, my leagues get pretty competitive and people really trash talk each other, pretty non stop. We had this one guy in the league who trash talked more than everybody, constantly hammering the message boards. It was great! Every league needs at least one loud mouth (preferably like six or seven though) to provide that constant entertainment. Problem with this guy was, he never won anything in the leagues. Enter the 2005 season, and a couple of the league members discovered that he was real sensitive about his shortcomings. They went on the offensive, countering his every post with statements pointing out how bad he was in fantasy sports (I wouldn't have said bad, more like unlucky). Well anyways, apparently this guy was someone who could 'dish it' but not 'take it' and one day up and decided to DROP HIS WHOLE TEAM TO THE FA WIRE! This was before they had 'can't cut' lists too.

Pandemonium set in fast, people clamoring for his players, arguing over who gets who. This was a money league, these guys were rightfully angry! In these situations the correct answer, the logical answer, is also the obvious answer. The problem is that commissioners are not always honest and some just try to do what's best for them and their team. Don't be that guy, don't try to win based off your ability to cheat, win based on skill and foresight. That separates Us from Them.

I locked every team in the league. Then (using commish controls) picked up all of his players and placed them back onto his team. I set his lineup, then unlocked all the teams except his and we all went about our business. End of story. No redraft, no free for all, just keep movin on.

Obviously I kicked that manager out of the league. He was about as close a friend as a person could have (I was the best man in his wedding) but this was crossing the line. We didn't speak for a solid 2 years, then he approached me and apologized. I've since let him rejoin the league and he hasn't been an issue since. Moreover, no one else in the league has been a problem either. By showing poise, acting with integrity, and taking prompt disciplinary action, I set the tone for everyone else that our league was a no nonsense league.

Here's another for you. In my second league, I had to deal with the issue of collusion. Now like I told you before, whenever collusion happens, it's (more often than not) amazingly obvious. We're coming down to the last month of the season and the guy in first place has a small lead, the guy in second is right on his tail. They'd been having a solid battle, but as March wore on First Place started to extend his lead. Then something strange happened, the guy in second to last place drops Mike Miller to the FA wire. At the time Miller wasn't great, but he was Tier Three material and a great source of treys. It was an odd move. I scanned the list of teams and noticed that the second place team had the number one waiver position. Even worse, the two categories he had room to improve in quickly were points and treys (Roto league).

Of course, I was irate. I did some questioning and found out this whole shebang had been planned over a poker game the two were at. Fortunately it was close to the end of the season, so we wouldn't have to worry about it continuing to happen.

I never said a word to the league from finding out, and let the add/drops go through. I contacted the two colluders separately and informed them they were no longer allowed to play with us, beginning with the next season. They were embarrassed from being caught, and even more embarrassed from getting kicked out. My first post for the next season explained the situation, explained the evidence I used to track down the deal, then explained the discipline, banned for life. The owner who lost (unfortunately) and ended up in second, was surprisingly graceful. He wasn't nearly as concerned about the 2nd place finish or the lost earnings, as he was knowing that justice had been served.

Again, acting swiftly, harshly, and letting everyone know how things are going to work will give your league mates confidence in the integrity of the game. The number one reason people cheat is because they think everyone else is cheating too (or at least someone else). Take that thought out of their mind and you'll have yourself a better league.

One final piece of advice - don't let your guard down. Especially in the playoffs. What I like to do, is as soon as the playoffs begin, I lock the add/drop ability for everyone not involved. You should do this too, just as a safety precaution. As you move through each round, keep locking out those who are 'out of it'.

Well that about wraps it up. I hope you found these posts useful. You'll be able to find them all under the label 'Tips for Starting a League' for future reference. If there's anything I didn't cover that you'd like to hear about, let me know below and I'll cover it.

The Team Analyzer will be updated for stats today and uploaded for use tonight. I'll post as soon as it's ready.