What is the commish's role in a league? There has been a lot of discussion over the past few months. Some people feel commishes have too much power, others feel they don't have enough.

Is their first responsibility to the league or to their own team? Should the commish be held to a higher standard? Should there be a way to remove an owner as commish if it seems that they are not doing what the league expects from them?

I'm interested in people's thoughts on this subject. Please stay on topic and this thread isn't for personal attacks against specific commishes. This is for general discussion.

First responsibility is to the world.

Everyone should be held to the same standard but, as previously mentioned, the world takes precedent over his team.

Absolutely. If he's not doing what the majority wants, he should step down.



A commish really only has two "jobs": Find replacements who will play by the world's standards. Enforce those standards.

agreed 100% with mike

should be a no-brainer

Although, I must admit, that I changed an anti-tanking rule unilaterally. No one complained because no one wanted to admit they were tanking.

I agree with Mike. If the commish isn't going to enforce rules or standards, they shouldn't be the commish and find someone who is willing to make the tough decisions and stand by them.

Quote: Originally posted by MikeT23 on 2/12/2010First responsibility is to the world.Everyone should be held to the same standard but, as previously mentioned, the world takes precedent over his team.Absolutely.   If he's not doing what the majority wants, he should step down. A commish really only has two "jobs":  Find replacements who will play by the world's standards.   Enforce those standards.

Totally 100% correct here MikeT23.

World is #1. How he runs and lets the world run, is a reflection on himself, and the World.

I think that a commish's first responsibility is to the world.

Yes, there should be a means for removing cheating/power-tripping commishes

It would be good if there was another option besides leaving the world if your commish turns out to be a dick.

By definition, most commishes are going to be considered dicks.

If you HAVE to enforce standards/guidelines, it's because someone isn't following them. That person is going to think the commish is a dick.

Quote: , as previously mentioned, the world takes precedent over his team.

Good topic.

I would add to the above that in a quality world every owner would take this stance. I also think that part of the Commish's role is to elicit and express the characteristic of the league.

A good commish will constantly be defining his league, basing the definition on what the majority wants. In my experience, often Commishes simply take a "dont rock the boat" approach.

Quote: Originally posted by MikeT23 on 2/12/2010   If you HAVE to enforce standards/guidelines, it's because someone isn't following them. 

or what the league wants has changed

Standards/guidelines shouldn't change overnight.

sure. But, the frequency to which the standards get tested probably isn't very often.

besides, i would say that a lot of standards are based on what is, rather than what is discussed beforehand. But, maybe that's just unfortunate qualities of the worlds I have been in.

Comissioners also need to be good at damage control. Your opinions might just have to take a back seat, for the good of the world.

Your opinions might be what helped set the world standards. A weak commissioner who's afraid to ruffle a feather isn't going to be very effective.

To sum it up, the guidelines you begin a season with are the guidlelines you enforce. If they need to be changed, it's done between seasons. If you have to use a sledgehammer to enforce the current guidelines, you use the heaviest one you can find.