Cheating?

[IFish]

Let me ask you gentleman a question. This has been on my mind for a little while. Several years back there was tx fisherman who was caught cheating. He was band from the tx's then. However he has shown up fishing tx's lately and doing well. With out knowing the name of the one caught cheating what are your thoughts. This is a sincere question I am trying to figure how I feel about this.

 

[MSBG Jake]

Re: Cheeting?

Ifish,
Some are going to say I'm a little harsh on this but...it has been a long standing "unwritten" rule that if an individual is ever caught cheating in a Tournament that the individual is banded for life...if it was proven that the individual cheated and you have first hand knowledge ((No hear say)) than it is your responsibility to inform the tx director. Sadly to say it is hard to prove unless the individual was charged and convicted in a court of law...98% of the directors/trails out here do not follow through with formal charges. For some reason a lot of directors and trails feel it reflects a bad light if they file charges....I say file the charges and put them in jail...a person who cheats is absolutely no different the the person that holds a gun to your head and takes your car or who breaks in to your house and steals all your stuff. A conviction for cheeting in most states is a felony conviction which also results in the individual not being able to own a gun/have a hunting license

 

[Shark]

RE: Cheeting?

IFish,

I would ask myself 3 questions:

#1 What rule/rules were broken when the cheating occurred resulting with the ban being put into effect? Severity of infraction(s).

#2 How long was the ban to be enforced? If a time limit was put on them, has the time expired and did they pay the price?

#3 Where is the ban to be enforced? (banned from that Tx trail or Banned in the state offender was caught (all tx in state caught) or ban included all states)

If you know for a fact that from past offenses - they should not be allowed to fish in a Tx, then I would say you have two options:
Discreetly contact the person and tell them people know they were banned - give the person a chance to explain they are now legal to fish in Tx's or they can drop out on thier own. If they don't drop from the Tx's - You can then turn them in to the Tx directors.

I personally think a ban for cheating should be based on the severity of the offense. An innocent mistake shouldn't be severe but a deliberate attempt to cheat or cheating has been proven - then it should be for life and they will be excluded from any and all types of tx fishing that awards cash and prizes.

But how do you enforce that in this day and age of modern technology; where you can change id's and no one will know unless by some who can personally identify them.

 

[beetlespin]

Re: Cheeting?

What did these guys do?

 

[dragfish]

Re: Cheeting?

I have to say cheating is stealing. These tournys are for money, the cheaters are trying to take cash from someones pocket. If someone tried to pick your pocket what would be your first reaction? In the days before law suits ran wild this would mean a severe butt whoopin', vandalized truck and etc. Banning them is just a slap on the wrist! emoEnforce Check the post on hole sitting.

 

[Pointer 78]

Re: Cheeting?

What tournament was this? A local dogfight? An ABA? Southern Anglers? BITE Tournament? If I'm aware that you've been banned from a tournment because of cheating, whether it's a Friday Night dogfight or a BFL, I'll make damn sure you're not fishing in any tournament I run. Everyone makes mistakes. Cheating is not a mistake. It's an intentional act carried out to gain money by fraudulent means.

 

[grass man]

Re: Cheeting?

I would also like to say you need to look at the source of some of these accusations, because some stems from other problems we may not all know the full story and lets not cast stones till we know the truth.

 

[Buoy-Master]

I hate post like this...Now everyone is sitting at home wondering who this is and if they have taken thier money away from them.

Kinda like a person once said to me....I know who broke into your house but I ain't telling you who!

Threads like this should never be posted in my opinion. If this person has truly done the above and is fishing again...whats the odds that someone else fishing the tournament knows this? Would they not bring it up tho the director or other members? I know I would if facts are KNOWN FACTS

Asking a "hypothetical" question is fine but stating that this person is for real and may be fishing among us tends to stir things up a bit.

I urge anyone that has what they feel is legitimate complaint to PM, E-mail , Call or talk in person to the director of the tournaments.