When Fantasy Football Saved A Man From Jail Time
How far would you go to make sure all of the fantasy football players in your league make it to your draft?
For one fantasy football commissioner in Indiana that meant having to find a way to get one of his buddies clear of actual jail time.
Matthew Berry is ESPN's fantasy football guru, and in his annual Draft Day Manifesto column he tells the story of a man (Thomas) who actually got a judge to change his friend's sentencing so he would be able to attend their fantasy football draft.
The friend (called "Guy" for the purpose of the story) was facing three years of real jail time for what is described as "a bit of a legal scuffle," but what was more pressing for Thomas the Commissioner was that Guy's sentencing was scheduled for the day before their fantasy draft.
Thomas immediately sprang into action researching the Indiana Department of Corrections website to see if there was any way Guy could make lineup changes, trades and transactions from jail so he could continue to participate in the league.
What Thomas did next is what any good fantasy football commissioner would do. He continued to read every piece of information on the DOC website and discovered that Guy's three year stretch could be served any way the Judge saw fit - actual jail time or a combination of that and house arrest.
Then he wrote a letter.
It should be noted that Thomas' wife is a public defender and helped with the wording, but the outcome was the same. The Judge was impressed enough with the letter that he made Guy's sentence house arrest for all three years. That's still not the best part. Because of Thomas' letter, the Judge also made sure Guy's sentence didn't start until AFTER draft day.
Now that's a fantasy football commissioner.
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