I was told this happened to a friend but I have not verified it yet but I want to hear your reactions to this:

A store that I visit quite frequently is having a Commander league. The winner at the end of the season will win a copy of the Commander's Arsenal. Sounds great, right? This friend of mine is currently winning the league by a decent amount and the player in second place who works for the store. Supposedly, the store owner has put a ‘bounty’ on my friend so that everyone will be more motivated to win and this will help his employee who is currently in second to win.

Now this all started from a previous exchange (again something I wasn't present for so this is all second hand) where my friend defeated the store owner in a match and then my friend was accused of bribing his opponent in the round previous (to my knowledge this was never turned over to the DCI to investigate nor was he DQ'd on the spot) by the store owner. A few days later, one of the store employees' (the same one who is in 2nd in the Commander League above) was playing in a sanctioned match for a spot in Top 8 when he supposedly ask his opponent to concede in exchange for product. My friend overheard the conversation and called this person out because of it yet nothing happened to this store employee.

Again, this was told to me second hand and I have yet to verify it, but this does not bold well if it is true. Odd stuff like this has happened in my area before and it only hurts the players who enjoy playing Magic when stuff like this happens.

I want to hear reaction(s) to this. I want to know what should be done if this is true. I will attempt to gather more information as I am able.

Originally posted by Bradley Reeves:

I want to hear reaction(s) to this. I want to know what should be done if this is true. I will attempt to gather more information as I am able.

First of all, you can't do anything based on hearsay. Which is what the above stories really are; without witnessing what occurred, you are on the wrong end of hearing things after the fact. Because what could have happened may have been perceived incorrectly by your friend, or even be a communication issue by the other people involved. The accused deserve the benefit of the doubt as much as the situation deserves attention if something did happen.

That doesn't mean you can't look into the matter, but it is difficult to do anything about such things after the fact. But you need to do so in a manner that promotes the gathering of information, rather than accusing people of doing something wrong. A simple, “My friend told me you did this!” can escalate a situation and cause significant issues, rather than provide something that will actually get the other side of the story. Which is what anyone in such a situation should want; both sides of the story. Instead, a broad question of “I've heard some odd rumors through the grapevine about players attempting to bribe each other. Do you know what these rumors might be about?” will do more to not be either (1) accusatory or (2) specific to your friend. Because the former shuts people down, and the later makes the situation personal to you and your friend.

Act as a concerned player who is worried that something bad might be happening in the store without being specific. Or even make note of that policy does allow prize splits or even discussion of what happens if one person wins (saying “If you were to concede, I could get product.” isn't generally prohibited absent a specific offer or enticement), and that you are worried that people could be crossing the line. If the owner/TO asks for specifics, you can deflect about the situation away from your friend (“I just heard that it might have happened, but I never got names.”) to keep it impersonal.

But, absent specific confirmation or even your own observation, it would be inappropriate to take action other than to investigate. This kind of situation really requires more information than one person saying “He bribed another player!” That's not evidence of wrong doing on its own.

Edited Brian Schenck (Dec. 9, 2012 07:55:25 AM)

My main suggestion would be to contact the judge who was judging the events, if they were sanctioned. If they were not sanctioned, then there's probably nothing officially wrong with the bahaviors, even if they were true. The local community would have to sort it out, in that case.

Anyway, if they had a judge there, try to contact him.

-Eric Shukan
L3
Woburn, MA USA
—– Original Message —–
From: Bradley Reeves
To: eshukan@verizon.net
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2012 4:17 AM
Subject: I heard about this second hand so no one jump to conclusions yet… (Regular REL)


I was told this happened to a friend but I have not verified it yet but I want to hear your reactions to this:

A store that I visit quite frequently is having a Commander league. The winner at the end of the season will win a copy of the Commander's Arsenal. Sounds great, right? This friend of mine is currently winning the league by a decent amount and the player in second place who works for the store. Supposedly, the store owner has put a ‘bounty’ on my friend so that everyone will be more motivated to win and this will help his employee who is currently in second to win.

Now this all started from a previous exchange (again something I wasn't present for so this is all second hand) where my friend defeated the store owner in a match and then my friend was accused of bribing his opponent in the round previous (to my knowledge this was never turned over to the DCI to investigate nor was he DQ'd on the spot) by the store owner. A few days lat er, one of the store employees' (the same one who is in 2nd in the Commander League above) was playing in a sanctioned match for a spot in Top 8 when he supposedly ask his opponent to concede in exchange for product. My friend overheard the conversation and called this person out because of it yet nothing happened to this store employee.

Again, this was told to me second hand and I have yet to verify it, but this does not bold well if it is true. Odd stuff like this has happened in my area before and it only hurts the players who enjoy playing Magic when stuff like this happens.

I want to hear reaction(s) to this. I want to know what should be done if this is true. I will attempt to gather more information as I am able.

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Thanks guys for your input :)

Apparently, there was some issues with my friends' story as he is now banned from store where this happened. The circumstances surrounding his banning seem justified with his aggressive behavior and his language.

Thanks guys for the right way to approach the situation :D