Anybody else amazed at all the cheating going on?

[Mason]

Maybe it's just because the good ones don't post about it, but I've been just amazed at the number of people posting on various forums about owners in their leagues cheating.

I'm about as competitive as they come and commish a $ league, albeit not huge $ ($175 x 14), and have never had a problem. I mean how pathetic is your life that you actually cheat on fantasy football? Are people that desperate for a couple of bucks or is our society that slimey?

Kind of scary when you think about it.

[Battlecreek Dragon]

How many retail employees have sold their integrity to lift a $5, $10, or $20 bill from the till?

You are talking about hundreds of dollars in many fantasy leagues and some others with bigger prizes.

Actually, I think it is incredibly easy to cheat at fantasy football and that is why it happens so much.

Many fun games are not overly burdened with rules. They rely on honesty and a sense of fair play between the competitors.

So much of fantasy football happens across the internet between nameless, faceless competitors with no real personal interaction or relationships at stake. Someone who cheats in a league of friends or another group where everyone knows each other probably has a real problem.

Somebody said once that a man's character is measured not by what he says or does when everybody's watching but when he is alone. I think a lot of the "cheaters" feel like no one is really watching, or even if they are no one will ever know who they are.

[onnestabe]

These threads come out of the woodwork this time of year, and it doesn't seem like there are any more this year than there were last year. I don't think it points to a lack of moral standards, just that the moral standards we have don't necessarily apply to games and systems that we set up on our own.

That's one of the reasons why being a commish can be so hard. There are always going to be people who try to bend the rules in their favor, and the commish has to anticipate that and put in a specific rule to handle any loopholes in the general rules.

[Matthias]

Sadly, I'm not suprised. But I'm a pretty optimistic cynic. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt but an continually unsuprised when they do something non-kosher.

There's a reason that criminal defense lawyers never go broke.

[mattUTD20]

You could be stranded on an island, lose track of time, be brought back to civilization, log onto any fantasy football forums website and instantly know if it's playoffs time or not, solely based on the number of 'cheating', 'ethics' and 'collusion' threads there are.

[Peacesells]

There will always be a sample of cheaters and their stories will ring loud because they are the minority. I've played FF since 1990 and have never personally witnessed any cheating.

Peace

[Deathwarmedover]

You also get to hear a lot of stories here because there are so many people and many of them play in a lot of leagues.


Steve

[moochman]

I'm always surpirsed when I hear of someone cheating in a league with people he knows. The Idea that you would brand yourself a cheater over something as fleeting as FF $ is absurd.

[Dunbar2000]

Agreed, but when $ is involved.......sad.....

read The Cheating Culture for an interesting take on cheating in our society. He makes the point that he doesnt feel his thesis is the above all , end all on cheating but makes some great points.

[flotsamnjetsam]

Maybe it's just because the good ones don't post about it, but I've been just amazed at the number of people posting on various forums about owners in their leagues cheating.

I'm about as competitive as they come and commish a $ league, albeit not huge $ ($175 x 14), and have never had a problem. I mean how pathetic is your life that you actually cheat on fantasy football? Are people that desperate for a couple of bucks or is our society that slimey?

Kind of scary when you think about it.

***APPLAUSE***