What to Do About Collusion
October 4th, 2002

Probably no topic raises as much ire in a league as that of unfair trading practices. Collusion is one of the toughest challenges a commish can face. With money and possibly friendships on the line this can put the screws to any Monday morning Tagliabue. And to up the ulcer tally, it can even kill the league. So what are you to do if you are faced with what looks like collusion?

The first question to ask is "what is collusion?" Everyone probably instinctively knows what collusion is. But if you are going to set up a series of rules and procedures to deal with incidences of collusion, you need to define it. One possible definition is this. "Collusion shall be defined as a pre-meditated conspiracy by an owner or owners to gain an unfair advantage, which undermines the competitive quality of the league."

Once collusion is defined, you can then look to your rules for guidance when problems occur. Have solid rules for trading, and the consequences of collusion, already in place. When you were setting up your league, you already had rules in place for collusion, right? As the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". This will save you time and headaches later if this issue ever crops up. And the headaches over your judgement on a controversial trade will come. You are going to catch flack when you reject a trade, even if it is fair and reasonable to do so. Things could even become heated and volatile enough to lose a friend and owner. This is obviously a worst-case scenario, and no one should value a game over a friend. But in our experience, we have seen a matter like these escalate into a war of words that drive friends apart. Just remember to keep your cool. Usually the commissioner has the power to veto any trade deemed to be unfair. As commish, you must protect the integrity of the league at all times, and the power to overturn an unfair trade at any time is crucial. To make sure the owners have a say in this process, allow each owner to lodge one veto protest per season. This protest must then be overturned by a 2/3rds majority of voting owners. If this procedure seems a bit much, elect a three-owner panel as a trade commission when the league is formed, or have it filled by three new owners at the start of the season. The panel must approve each trade by a majority vote.

Let’s assume that you have defined collusion and have rules about it set up for your league. How do you recognize it? Obvious cases where Owner A tries to trade his hamburger players to Owner B for his prime rib players are easy to spot, and to deal with. The trades that are borderline are a tougher call. Things get even foggier in a keeper league, where owners can have vastly different opinions about player talent levels. First of all, don’t panic. This may be hard to do, since as commish you are also probably an owner, and may have strong feelings about the owners and the trade. And the owners are probably breathing down your neck to make a decision. So step back, take a deep breath, and make sure you remain calm and objective. If you panic and make an incorrect read, you’ll have twice the trouble you had before in trying to correct a flawed judgement.

Gather as much information as possible. Make sure a deal that looks iffy at first glance really is collusion. Question the owners thoroughly about their reasons for wanting the players. If they can make a valid case for why they each want them, err on the side of caution and let it go through. It could simply be a case of an owner gulling another, more inexperienced, owner. Whether or not that is good for your league is a separate issue, but if it’s not collusion, let the trade go. Make a mental note to watch for a pattern of behavior in the future, and act accordingly then.

Let’s assume that you have decided that a trade is unfair, and you need to take action. What now? Hopefully you defined the penalties for collusion when you set up your league as well.

Make sure that the penalty fits the crime. When dealing with this issue, be prompt and proactive. Most of the time, undoing the trade and any game results because of it will solve the problem. A fine is perfectly appropriate too. Make sure that as a commish you are seen to be acting fairly and impartially. Worst case scenarios could easily call for you to expel the owner or owners from the league. Just be sure that you are still acting in an objective and impartial fashion.

As an owner, you unfortunately have fewer options. If you think that a trade or series of trades are being made to stack a team, bring the matter up with your commissioner. Present your findings in a calm and reasoned manner. If your commish refuses to address the matter, or is a party in the collusion, then you should leave the league. That may be a bitter pill to swallow since you usually have some cash on the line. If you think you can win despite the cheating, then go ahead and stick it out. But next season try and find a new league that is populated with adults instead of infants.

Collusion is a difficult matter that must be dealt with fairly and objectively. The suggestions presented here are not intended to be all-inclusive. They are intended to provide some guidelines to help you, should you ever find yourself in the difficult position of having collusion in your league.

Tom Nadratowski
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