A Disgruntled Nobleman
It’s early yet in my fantasy baseball league–the one you may have read about in my post “You Always Remember Your First”–but already there’s some serious ill-will brewing among a few of the owners, even accusations of gross misconduct. To say that rivalries are forming, I think, would be drastically understating the gravity of these volatile emotions.
The league officially started less than a week ago and, after accumlating a couple day’s stats, Spencer (AKA: “The School of Hardknocks”) took a quick and, some might argue, surprising rise to 1st place. But certain parties are crying foul play.
Here’s the issue: After the first day of play, Spencer changed his team name from the default, computer-given “Team Spencer” to a name of his own choosing, the strong yet mysterious “School of Hardknocks.” At this late-in-coming and unfounded identity shift, his stats took a giant leap forward, and the underdog claimed first place.
Spencer says it was nothing more than a stroke of good fortune. But another player, Eddie (AKA: “Lil’”), feels that maybe the pieces fit together just a little too neatly.
Team Spencer’s decision to change his name after the league had started, Lil’ argues, was not only in flagrant disregard of the principles of sportsmanship, but also somehow connected to his claiming of the first place spot–which, coincidently, was held by Lil’ before he was dethroned by the Hardknocks.
Lil’ issued a letter to the public as well as the league’s commissioner and players, and it’s obvious that he wants something done. The letter reads as follows:
“On 4/10/09 I am hereby filing a protest to the Nature’s Noblemen league president regarding the School of Hardknocks. The reason for this protest is when the league was formed, the School of Hardknocks had a different name. I am appalled and quite frankly very upset at this and am asking the League to remove the School of Hardknocks from the league. If for some reason this can not be done then I believe it is only fair that all of the points that the School of Hardknocks earned be removed and that their points will be reduced to 0. Lastly, whatever decision the league decides, I am asking that the School of Hardknocks be reprimanded for its actions.
I realize that mistakes can be made during the course of a fantasy baseball league but I honestly feel that the owner of the School of Hardknocks consciously made the decision to change their name for the sole purpose of coming in first place. This kind of action is not just immoral but is unethical.
In closing, I would like the league to know that whatever decision they make regarding my request will be respected–as long as the league decides to remove the School of Hardknocks.
Respectfully yours,
Lil”
After his letter was published on the Nature’s Noblemen public forum, I was able to get a private meeting with Lil’ and asked him whether he really felt his demands were warranted; didn’t they seem a bit black and white? I asked him.
He looked at me as though he pitied my naiveté.
“Listen,” he said, “this isn’t a witch hunt. I just want something done, that’s all. And I’m not out to take this guy down, either. It would really be best if he resigned. It’d be classy, you know? That way, he’d at least be able to save a little face. It’s a matter of integrity. Let’s all try to walk away from this thing with as little dirt on our hands as possible.”
The league has yet to hear from the Hardknocks’ owner.
This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 10:00 pm and is filed under essay/social crit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
