How do I handle this league issue ?

[MGNJ]

First year FF commish here..

We have an owner (brought in by a guy in our league) that is purposely starting a "weak" line-up this week so his buddy (who he is playing) can make the playoffs. When I say weak I mean it's completely opposite what he played last week. I've sent him an e-mail saying he needs to change his line-up and make it more competitive but no changes as of yet. He lives in another state and I've had issues with this clown all year on league dues, trades, etc...

Should I

a) change his line-up myself on Sunday morning with his line-up from the week before. And then kick him out next Monday (fyi...he's in first place with the leagues best record)

Do nothing...and if he leaves that line-up in just boot him immediately. But then do I give the guy he's playing an automatic win ?

Also we DO NOT have a league rule that specifically states an awner cannot put in a "dog" lineup.

 

need help here guys....thks Rating :

(No ratings)

[MrTed46]

Do your rules state you cant Tank on purpose? If not, let him do what he wants.

[peepinmofo]

You dont need a no tanking rule. If he is tanking, regardless of the reason, he should be penalized. Hell, if he tanks, make him the last seed, or just remove him from the playoffs.

 

If it were me, I would submit his lineup as it was last week, or just the most competitive based on points scored by position.

 

Then have Plxico Burress go to a nightclub with him so he can "accidentally" shoot him.

[MrTed46]

Why is this different from losing on purpose to play a different player?

[peepinmofo]

Do your rules state you cant Tank on purpose? If not, let him do what he wants.

 

Youre kidding right? Tanking is one of those things that needs no rule.

[peepinmofo]

Why is this different from losing on purpose to play a different player?

 

huh?

[MrTed46]

huh?

http://forums.thehuddle.com/index.php?show...p;hl=losing+win

 

and everything needs a rule IMO

[Bronco Billy]

Also we DO NOT have a league rule that specifically states an awner cannot put in a "dog" lineup.

 

Then you are pretty much powerless here. Let him submit his tanked lineup, but let him know that your league expects owners to act ethically and submit their most competitive lineup, and since he chooses not to do so that you intend to ask the league to remove him during the offseason.

 

About the worst thing you can do is either force him to change his lineup or change it for him. Then you're acting unethically and well outside the bounds of your responsibility - and as a commish you never, ever want to do that.

 

Seems like there's always karma in these kinds of things. It just may work its own way out for your problem owner.

[Big John]

That is collusion (tanking for the purpose of helping one specific other team in this case). Than can be grounds for expulsion.

 

If he doesn't change the lineup by Sunday, I would remove his control of the team and revert to last week's lineup for the purpose of preserving integrity of the league. Then the rest of the league can decide of permanent expultion.

[MrTed46]

Then you are pretty much powerless here. Let him submit his tanked lineup, but let him know that your league expects owners to act ethically and submit their most competitive lineup, and since he chooses not to do so that you intend to ask the league to remove him during the offseason.

 

About the worst thing you can do is either force him to change his lineup or change it for him. Then you're acting unethically and well outside the bounds of your responsibility - and as a commish you never, ever want to do that.

 

Seems like there's always karma in these kinds of things. It just may work its own way out for your problem owner.

 

I 100% agree with BB...did I just say that?

[MrTed46]

That is collusion (tanking for the purpose of helping one specific other team in this case). Than can be grounds for expulsion.

 

If he doesn't change the lineup by Sunday, I would remove his control of the team and revert to last week's lineup for the purpose of preserving integrity of the league. Then the rest of the league can decide of permanent expultion.

 

You can't prove he is doing it to favor just 1 team or working with the other team. It is assumed he is

[peepinmofo]

Like BJ said, you compromise the integrity of the league. If I were in a league like that (which similar things have happened in past leagues), then as an owner, I wouldnt come back.

 

A similar issue happened several years ago, and guess how many people came back the next year... none.

 

If you want to find all new owners, then go ahead and leave it as is. But fully expect more than one person to not come back.

[peepinmofo]

You can't prove he is doing it to favor just 1 team or working with the other team. It is assumed he is

Johnny Cochran? Is that you?

 

Cmon... this isnt a legal case. If it is OBVIOUS he is tanking, then he is tanking. So sit LT and play Rock Cartwright. Yeah, while it might not be in the rules, if I saw someone do that in a league I commished in, Id have to make sure it was fixed.

[MrTed46]

Like BJ said, you compromise the integrity of the league. If I were in a league like that (which similar things have happened in past leagues), then as an owner, I wouldnt come back.

 

A similar issue happened several years ago, and guess how many people came back the next year... none.

 

If you want to find all new owners, then go ahead and leave it as is. But fully expect more than one person to not come back.

 

Again, I don't see how this is different from the link I posted above.

 

If you didn't want this to happen you make STRICT tanking rules, otherwise he can argue this will help his team in the playoffs by having a weaker team make it in.

 

ETA: Since there are no tanking rules, I would have a problem with this ONLY if the guy setting the weaker lineup is already eliminated from playoffs.

Edited December 4, 2008 by MrTed46

[theeohiostate]

Post his name and email here.

 

 

We'll set him straight !

 

[MrTed46]

Post his name and email here.

 

 

We'll set him straight !

 

 

[kpholmes]

If he actually admitted specifically that he is tanking for the sole purpose of letting his friend win to get in the playoffs, then yeah, that's collusion and you must act on it.

Otherwise, you can't act on speculation.

 

About the worst thing you can do is either force him to change his lineup or change it for him. Then you're acting unethically and well outside the bounds of your responsibility - and as a commish you never, ever want to do that.

 

Because there is no established rule against tanking, I have to agree here.

The best thing you can do in a situation like this is not compromise your integrity as commissioner. If it's blatant what he's doing is wrong, the other owners will see it too and won't want him invited back next season. If you use your authority to take action when it's outside your boundaries, all you're doing is turning owners against you rather than said owner.

 

It's an unfortunate situation, but it's something you as a commissioner need to learn from.

During the off season establish a league rulebook, if you need help with that come here and we can help you put one together to keep stuff like this from happening in the future.

[Cyre]

What do the fellow owners in the league say about this?

[MGNJ]

If he actually admitted specifically that he is tanking for the sole purpose of letting his friend win to get in the playoffs, then yeah, that's collusion and you must act on it.

 

Otherwise, you can't act on speculation.

 

 

He's submitted the same line-up for weeks 11, 12, & 13. Now for week 14 he puts in all his "B" players.

This is blatant tanking and I feel I need to act on it.

Kicking him out is a bit extreme but I will not hesitate to change his line-up on Sunday if he hasn't done so himself.

[Jrick35]

He's submitted the same line-up for weeks 11, 12, & 13. Now for week 14 he puts in all his "B" players.

This is blatant tanking and I feel I need to act on it.

Kicking him out is a bit extreme but I will not hesitate to change his line-up on Sunday if he hasn't done so himself.

 

Do you have a rule that prohibits tanking? if no then he is not breaking a rule. Is it unethical? yes, but not against the rules.

 

just as an fyi, his strategy only "helps" the other team win, it does not "guarantee" that the other team will win.

 

Just last week I started what I thought was my best lineup, and I was trying to clinch the 1st rd bye so I really needed a win. Well I won but only because my opponents team sucked. I had 7 players on my bench that outscored players that I started. So I could have started all of my 'B' players and people may have thought I was tanking but in reality I would hav ehad a much better game. Have you looked at his matchups this week?

 

WHo did he sit and who is he starting?

 

Also I do agree with twhoever it was that asked, isn't this the same as tanking to draw a better playoff matchup?

 

I personally do not like tanking FOR ANY REASON. But to prevent it from happening you have to have rules specifically prohibiting it. But even then, just starting a lot of diferent players in week 14 than you started in weeks 11, 12 & 13 does not mean you are tanking.

[Seahawks21]

Dude, you are the commissioner. Anytime there is not a rule in place, it is ultimately your decision alone. The only wrong answer here is to let him tank and do nothing. Someone who will be deserved of a playoff spot could lose out because of this guy's sabotaging of your league.

 

Remember, you are the commissioner, and this is subjective. There are no rules in place other than what you say goes. If you feel he is tanking, you need to take action. Warn him that if he doesn't submit a lineup that YOU feel gives his team the best chance to win, YOU will take over his team, disqualify him from the playoffs, and move forward without him. You've got to put your foot down and be the heavy here, for the sake of the rest of the owners in your league.

 

For the sake of this conversation, can you show us the two lineups? The one he has been submitting and then the lineup he has submitted for this week.

[Seahawks21]

Do you have a rule that prohibits tanking? if no then he is not breaking a rule. Is it unethical? yes, but not against the rules.

 

just as an fyi, his strategy only "helps" the other team win, it does not "guarantee" that the other team will win.

 

Just last week I started what I thought was my best lineup, and I was trying to clinch the 1st rd bye so I really needed a win. Well I won but only because my opponents team sucked. I had 7 players on my bench that outscored players that I started. So I could have started all of my 'B' players and people may have thought I was tanking but in reality I would hav ehad a much better game. Have you looked at his matchups this week?

 

WHo did he sit and who is he starting?

 

Also I do agree with twhoever it was that asked, isn't this the same as tanking to draw a better playoff matchup?

 

I personally do not like tanking FOR ANY REASON. But to prevent it from happening you have to have rules specifically prohibiting it. But even then, just starting a lot of diferent players in week 14 than you started in weeks 11, 12 & 13 does not mean you are tanking.

How is this different from tanking for a better playoff matchup? Come on. For starters, EVERYTHING!! Let's see, how bout, CAUSE YOU ACTUALLY CAN BENEFIT FROM GETTING A BETTER MATCHUP IN THE PLAYOFFS!?!? The way it is being done here, the only possible common sense that you could base this on is that you would rather play your friend's team in the playoffs than the team that would have gotten in had you not tanked.

 

Look, my office league has about two rules, none of which were ever written, so there is no written rule that stops owners from collusion. Are some of you saying that because this was never a written rule, there should be no penalty if one owner trades his five best players to his brother for Shaun Alexander?

 

This is why we have commissioners. If all we had were sets of rule books, we would not need commissioners. The most important job of a commissioner is to fix the problems. There can't be a rule for everything, sometimes the commissioner just has to make decisions he feels are in the best interest of the league. Then from there, if an owner doesn't like the rulings the commissioner sets, the owner can find a new league with a different commissioner.

[MGNJ]

Dude, you are the commissioner. Anytime there is not a rule in place, it is ultimately your decision alone. The only wrong answer here is to let him tank and do nothing. Someone who will be deserved of a playoff spot could lose out because of this guy's sabotaging of your league.

 

Remember, you are the commissioner, and this is subjective. There are no rules in place other than what you say goes. If you feel he is tanking, you need to take action. Warn him that if he doesn't submit a lineup that YOU feel gives his team the best chance to win, YOU will take over his team, disqualify him from the playoffs, and move forward without him. You've got to put your foot down and be the heavy here, for the sake of the rest of the owners in your league.

 

For the sake of this conversation, can you show us the two lineups? The one he has been submitting and then the lineup he has submitted for this week.

 

 

This weeks line-up:

 

S Hill SF v NYJ

R. Brown RB MIA

W. Dunn RB TB

A. Bryant WR TB

B. Marshall WR

E. Royal WR DEN

J. Elam K ATL

Ravens DST BAL

 

On his bench;

 

D Brees vs ATL

J. Addai RB IND

C. Johnson RB TEN

D. Williams RB CAR

A. Boldin WR ARI

R. White WR ATL

[ABearWithFurniture]

This weeks line-up:

 

S Hill SF v NYJ

R. Brown RB MIA

W. Dunn RB TB

A. Bryant WR TB

B. Marshall WR

E. Royal WR DEN

J. Elam K ATL

Ravens DST BAL

 

On his bench;

 

D Brees vs ATL

J. Addai RB IND

C. Johnson RB TEN

D. Williams RB CAR

A. Boldin WR ARI

R. White WR ATL

 

This guy couldn't tank if he wanted to...nice lineup!

[Jrick35]

How is this different from tanking for a better playoff matchup? Come on. For starters, EVERYTHING!! Let's see, how bout, CAUSE YOU ACTUALLY CAN BENEFIT FROM GETTING A BETTER MATCHUP IN THE PLAYOFFS!?!? The way it is being done here, the only possible common sense that you could base this on is that you would rather play your friend's team in the playoffs than the team that would have gotten in had you not tanked.

 

exactly.

 

If the guy "tanking" wins this week who does he meet in the playoffs vs who he mihgt meet if he were to lose this week?

 

And is that why he is tanking and it is just a strange coiincidence that he is playing his friend this week?

 

unless he set the schedule himself, who he plays the week he needs to tank to improve his plyoff matchup, was not his choice.