I'm not sure I'm clear on the infraction. Was Dave suspended because he:
- Used social media to bash someone
- Used social media to bash an amateur athlete
- Bashed someone and put Pregame in a negative light.
I understand employee rules and that it's never a good idea to behave in a way that reflects poorly on oneself and one's employer so I get that part, and if he crossed a line then some kind of punishment is understandable, but I don't understand the fine print here. Fezzik goes on a weekly public tweet/rant against just about every football coach or coordinator who mismanages the last two minutes of a game and he's never been suspended. He's also called out plenty of other pro athletes and coaches who've cost him money. Did he use a swear word? I don't think so, but the quality or lack thereof the "words he used" should not be the guiding principle. You can easily destroy someone's confidence or self-image without swearing at them. Fezzik's also never had to post his real name. Seems to me there's more than one double standard here.
I've been in business for myself most of my life. Having to deal with employees is the hardest part of business and often requires the ability to work with delicate situations and people that don't have as much at stake as I do. I've no doubt that Dave regrets what he did and I can understand and even appreciate the steps RJ made to do what he thought was right for the Pregame brand. My concern is that, are all of these standards applied equally to every pro?
On a side note, this incident may reflect negatively on the pick selling industry, but I'll tell you this, when I heard Dave Malinsky talk last week about the Billy Walters incident and how Billy crossed certain unwritten lines between him and his cohorts, it immediately sent the message that sports bettors or sports betting syndicates have something to hide and that automatically sends up red flags about game-fixing and/or illegal betting practices. Why can't these guys just lay it all out? Not just most of some of it…ALL OF IT? Now if that doesn't reflect badly on the industry nothing will. It's no wonder that mistrust exists and that for sports betting to become legalized, the industry has a long long way to go. I had hoped it would be different and maybe when enough politicians get paid off it will become legal, but for now, there's shadows everywhere.