Fantasy Football : The Ethicist

READ MORE: Ethics, Fantasy Football, Gambling Blues

Fantasy football between friends can get ugly with money on the line. Let’s say your opponent had Peyton Manning on bye this past week, and no one to back him up. If you could corner the market on free agent QBs, would you? Even worse, what if you cut a single QB from your bloated roster late in the afternoon on Saturday, knowing he wouldn’t technically clear waivers before game time on Sunday. Your opponent could see him in free agency but couldn’t pick him up at the last minute. Associate editor BG (who’s the co-commissioner of the league) chose to turn the screws on his opponent, who then posted the following to the league’s message board:

“Seriously. That has got to be one of the most pussy and underhanded things I have seen in a while. The waivers process is intended to give teams a means to make sure they have equal access to players, not so you can pick up and drop all the qbs in the l(e)ague so that your opponent can’t pick them up. I was sick in bed with strep throat from wed-sun… and just figured I’d pick up a qb sunday. When I had my buddy try and do so (no net access at home right now) he was perplexed that NO qb’s were avail and only Jamie Martin was ‘on w(a)ivers’ until Sunday. Then I figured out what you did. I know it’s illegal in other leagues of mine, but can’t get on the site… and don’t even know if I won or lost yet and have yet to see what our rules say to that effect. But even if that is within the letter of the league for a commish to pull that is about as bush league as it gets.

I still think that in a friends league I shouldn’t have to worry about this, and would think that I should at least get Martin’s pts, but am still amazed that you would stoop to such a level in a friendly league.”

All’s fair with a $100 playoff rebate and a $600 championship win on the line. And this is also within the rules.

Fantasy Football Archive [Oddjack]