This is a 12 team start-up, $306 buy-in. It's a group of owners that for the most part don't know each other. Because of this, it was decided to use LeagueSafe to manage the fees. The commish at the time (we'll call him "C" was unfamiliar with LeagueSafe, so another owner (his name is Josh Meyer - meyerj31@gmail.com) became Treasurer and set-up the LeagueSafe account (ONLY because the commish didn't know how).
We drafted back in February as soon as everyone was paid up - the deadline set in LeagueSafe was 3/1. A few months later, C needed to step down, so I stepped in for him as commissioner. On July 29th, a few weeks after this transition, Josh Meyer gave C commish powers in LeagueSafe. C immediately gave me commish powers, and I removed commish powers from both C and Josh Meyer.
Everyone was paid up, the deadline had passed, and I was the only person with access to league funds. As far as I was concerned, everything was fine with LeagueSafe until the end of the season.
Josh had a pretty good team on paper - but it was definitely a win now team. He had traded away his future 1st earlier in the year. He was fairly active in the off-season, but after the start of the regular season, he only made a few waiver-wire moves and trades. After week 6, when he was 2-4, he made a big trade. Josh traded Calvin and Terrance Williams to another owner (we'll call him "J") for Finley and Rice. (Keep in mind at the time that Johnson had missed a game, and Finley had just put up some huge numbers. The trade looks a lot different 2 weeks later)
Josh loses again and is now 2-5 with a win-now team that will need to be rebuilt. Low and behold - he didn't set his roster for week 8. He removed his contact info, and he didn't respond to anyone's attempts to contact him. Obviously, he dropped out of the league.
HERE IS WHERE THE $%#* HITS THE FAN
Somebody gets onto LeagueSafe and sees the following:
9/3/2013 Josh Meyer has left the league.
7/30/2013 Josh Meyer received a $306.00 refund.
That's right - the day after he transferred commish powers to me, Josh Meyers was able to get a refund from Leaguesafe. He then "left" our league account on LeagueSafe, but continued to set lineups, make trades, and add waivers for the first 7 weeks of the season. I'll get more into what's going on with LeagueSafe if anyone is interested. What happened appears in violation of their terms and conditions, but that's for another conversation.
So, we don't just have an owner that dropped out mid-season, we've got a guy who didn't have a right to be playing in the league anyway. The league by-laws are pretty extensive, but there's nothing in them for how to handle this extremely messed up circumstance. Being commish, and considering the implications, I decided it was best not to impose my will on this and discuss, as a league, how to handle it.
The main thoughts are:
A. Leave everything as-is, find a new owner, and move on.
B. Josh Meyer didn't have the right to be making roster moves once he got his refund. All of the player transactions he made after that point should be reversed. Games won/lost would remain the same, as per the league by-laws, I would've been setting the lineup for his team until a replacement could be found.
There's some pretty strong feelings on both sides. J feels like he's being punished if his trade is reversed. Others think that the only reason Josh Meyer made that trade was because he didn't care about the league and was trying to sabotage his team and the league. As commish, I want to be as fair as possible, but also keep the league together. I've gotten some flack for not stepping in immediately and making a decision one way or another.
So:
1. I want to warn everyone - be weary of Josh Meyer. His email is meyerj31@gmail.com. If he's in a league you commish - be VERY weary.
2. Did I do the right thing by getting input from my league mates, or as commish should I have made a decision immediately on this matter?
3. Given the circumstances, should the decision for how to proceed be from a league vote, or should I make it as commish?
4. If you were in this league, and this came to a vote which option would you choose (A or B)?
Personally, I think involving all league members in this, and putting it to a vote, was the best course of action. However, there is one owner in particular who is very upset about it, and may potentially leave depending on the outcome of the vote. I'd hate to see him go as he is a very passionate and active owner. I want to get feedback from others and get their input.
Thoughts?
He is also a smart runner, who cuts very well, and has the swivel you like to see in a back. For a big back, while he runs with power, he really isn't just a brute back ... he creatively finds his holes and when there is someone in his way, he becomes a brute back.
