Ask The Commish: Am I Wrong in Barring NSFW Team Names?

Am I wrong for wanting to stop people using NSFW team names in our league? Am I being too much of a prude or just practical?

If your league is actually an office league, it’s not too much to ask for people to be "creative" in some other way. I would make that call myself. Doesn’t matter if you’re a prude or not. If you’re an office league commissioner, the practical position is the one to have. You don’t want any issues with HR complaints or someone feeling uncomfortable in any way. This is a really, really easy bullet to avoid.

If it’s not a league in the workplace, then maybe let it be. Let folks have their smirks and giggles. However, if you feel strongly about it, and it’s a league you started, you have every right to make that request. Institute the rule next year. It’s too late to ask folks to make a change now. Some people put a lot of thought coming up with names that refer to their Wee Willie Winkies, so don’t rain on their parade now.

We just had our draft this past weekend. It was a live, online draft. My best friend was at my place during the draft. He had to leave for an emergency at home so he left his laptop with me, and I selected his team for the last five rounds of the draft. He already had players in the cue, I just selected who was at the top of the cue. This is what he asked me to do.

I’ve seen some of your comments about being transparent. Would this qualify? I don’t see a problem with what I did, but if I’m going to be transparent as you say, should I tell the rest of the league what I did? I don’t feel like we’re hiding anything so explain to me why this would be an issue if I don’t say anything.

Yes, I believe that commissioners should be transparent in everything they do. It’s a personal safeguard. You never want to be accused of doing something shady. Just the accusation, even if untrue, can derail a league’s trust in you and create unnecessary drama. I read enough nonsense every day from people gleefully talking about giving their commissioner a hard time. Why is this a thing?

My point is, commissioners deal with mess like this seemingly by default, so why create a situation for yourself that might cast you in a negative light - even if you potentially didn’t do anything wrong? Perception matters.

Even though you don’t see a problem helping your friend out, the very fact that you’re asking me about this, tells me there’s a part of you that understands this just might be something you should share. I agree with you.

Also, sure, if you and your friend don’t say anything, no one will ever know. However, we could discuss a scenario where you and your best friend have a falling out (it happens). What if they tell the league you drafted for him in the last rounds (true), but you chose players he didn’t sanction (not true)? What if he has a bad season, and tells the league it’s all your fault because of what you did? Do you see how this can be, well, an issue for you?

What are the relationships like in your league? Would people take sides? Would a whole bunch of nonsense erupt in your league? Only you know the answer to that. Then again, maybe you don’t.

What I’m describing may seem like a bunch of needless rigmarole, and that may be true, but I’ m also answering your question as to why this would, or could be an issue.

I would inform the league what happened. You don’t have to tell your best friend’s business, just that you helped them out in an emergency. More importantly, I would also encourage your friend to follow-up with an email to the league confirming what happened. It’ll be up to them if they want to go into details or not.

Now, their statement is a matter of record, which should protect you from any friendship fallout that I described above. I would hope that no one should have an issue with you helping your friend who had an emergency they had to promptly deal with.

Best case scenario would’ve been you both announcing that you were taking over his picks via chat during the draft (if that was an option). However, it’s totally understandable why neither one of you thought of doing that, especially your friend, who I’m sure had much more important things on their mind. I’m mentioning this only because I know others may read this, and it’s something for commissioners to think about going forward.

Send your questions to The Commish: thecommishshow@outlook.com