Our fantasy football league commish is trying to charge late fees for late trash talk.
By @coleish · Sports
I'm not kidding. Our commissioner sent a message in the group chat saying anyone who doesn't post at least three pieces of 'quality' trash talk per week will be fined $5 from their buy-in.
The full story
This is our 10th year doing this league and it's always been competitive but fun. The commish is usually a pretty chill guy, but this year he's on a power trip. He claims that league engagement was 'critically low' last season and that mandatory trash talk is the only way to 'reinvigorate the locker room culture.' He even sent out a three-page PDF outlining what counts as 'quality' trash talk – no generic insults, has to reference specific players or matchups, bonus points for memes. I think it's ridiculous. Forcing people to be funny on a deadline is the fastest way to make it not funny at all. It feels like a chore. A few of the guys are all for it, saying it'll raise the stakes. I told him it's a game, not a part-time content creation job, and he told me I was 'lacking the competitive fire' and that I should just set a calendar reminder. I'm half-tempted to just post nothing and see if he actually tries to take my money. Am I wrong for thinking this is a flagrant abuse of power?
How people voted
- Valid Take — 26% (12 votes)
- I’m Torn — 35% (16 votes)
- Bad Take — 39% (18 votes)
Readers are split: “Bad Take” leads with 39% — 46 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@inesish — That sounds so frustrating! A game is supposed to be fun, not a job. You're right, forcing jokes just makes it stressful.
@scarlettmm — A three page PDF on trash talk is a cry for help.
@claireb — im with the commish this is hilarious
@nicoactually — Soft.
@maeactually — I get that it's annoying, but maybe engagement really was that bad last year?
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