John C, Dirty Pirates On Hiatus ***UPDATE***
UPDATE, 03/16/2014, 12:03A, DPPI: Sources
confirm the mutineers will call themselves "Pirates" on the field
despite not using it as part of their official name. DPPI contacted
John C for his thoughts. He offered this statement:
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| DPPI: We
interview long time GM and Manager of the Dirty Pirate Hookers and
affiliated teams, John C. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us
today. JC: You're welcome. DPPI: What are your plans for 2014? JC: To play only. DPPI: What led to that decision? JC: I've been heading down this path for a couple of years...waiting longer and longer to recruit teams...trying to let management fade away. DPPI: That explains the recent past: some have wondered why you waited so long to recruit teams for a new season. Why do you want to step away from management? JC: I've managed over 40 seasons plus tournaments. I'm tired of it. DPPI: Did any season or year in particular push you over the edge? JC: 2013 was particularly taxing on me, especially the Fall season. DPPI: You're team had meetings and/or communication regarding 2013 that excluded you. The end result was mutiny over a financial mess they claim you created. Is that an accurate description? JC: I'm not privy to the details of the meeting or communication. As you said, I was excluded. DPPI: Do you feel excluding you from any such conversation was less than forthright? JC: Absolutely. Regardless, I already determined I wasn't running any teams before I found out about the mutiny. DPPI: Please elaborate. JC: As I said 2013 was very taxing. It took a large toll on me both personally and economically. The denouement was players not paying fees when I asked. That hurt me on a personal level. DPPI: Can you provide more detail? JC: I registered teams for fall ball with my funds... DPPI: How much was that? JC: $700 or so. The time came to collect fees from the players. Including myself, only four players paid on time. I sent individual texts asking for fees from those who owed. Only three players responded. Of those, two offered excuses and one paid in full. The remainder didn't even bother to respond. DPPI: So a majority of the team didn't pay on time or at all? JC: Correct, more than half the team. If people paid after I sent that text, no problem. Only one paid. Those who didn't even bother to respond really troubled me. That was the tipping point. I knew I was finished running teams. DPPI: What happened after the majority of the team paid late or not at all? JC: The damage was done. Led by Frank Rogers and his bookkeeper Jen Kozakiewiczj, Andy's League and All American Sports initiated a campaign of harassment against me using a publicly accessible message board. Ultimately, my men's team was banned from the playoffs. Those delinquent with team fees not only hurt me, but they hurt my men's team as well. DPPI: I'll take this opportunity to inform our readers about Part II of this interview where we delve into the Andy's League situation more extensively. DPPI: Please continue with the team's fee payment problems. JC: The problem was those who didn't pay after I sent my final text asking for payment. DPPI: Did they eventually pay? JC: There remains balance due to me from 2013 Fall AND 2013 Spring/Summer. Without checking my notes, the balance is owed by around five people. DPPI: You're STILL owed fees from 2013 Fall AND 2013 Spring? JC: Yes I am. DPPI: Five players owe fees? JC: Some players may be surprised to find themselves on that list, but they don't understand the league charged a fine for late payment. Four people paid on time. Clearly, if you paid late, you're responsible for paying the fine. DPPI: Was it possible for you to cover the balance? JC: My funds were committed to a large work project--but whether or not I could cover the balance is irrelevant. I was keel-hauled by this group and that soured me. My fees were paid in full and on time, but the damage was done by those who did not pay on time or who did not pay in full. I had to stop the financial bleeding. The treasure chest was shut. DPPI: Do you accept any responsibility for what happened? JC: I accept that I was too trusting. Some say I could have handled the situation better. DPPI: Was it possible for you to handle the situation better? JC: No. Anybody expressing such an opinion is naive or uninformed or speaking to the wrong people. DPPI: What is the current state of your team? JC: A few weeks ago, after a team social gathering of sorts, Steve F informed me the team no longer wanted to play for me; they would only play if he ran the team. DPPI: The whole team? JC: That's what I was led to believe, but at least one player has said he does not want to play for Steve. DPPI: How did news of the mutiny make you feel? JC: My first reaction was anger, followed by disappointment in those who orchestrated the insurrection. Also, there's the issue of the denigrating recruitment text sent to my players...I am upset about that. DPPI: Was the recruiting text sent to you? JC: No. I heard about it from a recipient. He didn't pass it on, he was...afraid of rocking the boat and losing his roster spot. DPPI: During this gathering, did anybody say anything to you regarding your status and what they were planning? JC: Nobody said anything. The first time I knew anything is when Steve and I spoke. DPPI: Why do you suppose they picked Steve? JC: I'm not sure, but he has a sponsor. DPPI: Loyalty trades cheaply in softball. I believe the price used to be 30 pieces of silver. JC: Haha, yes it was. DPPI: Do you need to control the team? JC: There was at best a very remote chance I would choose to run a team, so management wasn't a problem for me. Their process concerns me. They had discussions on the sly. I was shut out. It's easy to levy charges and say whatever you want when you don't allow the impugned party a chance to speak. DPPI: What would you have said to them if given the chance? JC: Pretty much what I said so far: those who paid late or who still owe funds caused the damage...plus a few other appropriate statements. DPPI: What do you think about Steve's part in this? You and he have known and played together for years. JC: I'm not sure the mutineers understood the irony in using Steve...he and I already went down this road in 2007. DPPI: Any thoughts on why Steve is part of this? JC: My guess is Steve did what he thought was best for the team...he did what he thought was necessary to keep it together. I suspect he was played a bit...taken advantage of by a couple people. |
DPPI:
Did Steve tell you who was responsible for the mutiny? JC: I want to clarify: Steve was not on the fall team--he had no part in the financial situation. Steve always paid in full, on time. He did mention a couple of the people largely responsible for the mutiny. Curiously, at least one the mutineers who pushed for this is a delinquent payer...a person who shares responsibility for the problem and ensuing damage. DPPI: At least one person who was part of the problem was also responsible for the mutiny? JC: That's right. If anybody who was part of the problem--as in paid their fees late...if they had any involvement in the mutiny, I think, at best, they're confused...or worse, dissembling. DPPI: You put a lot of effort into this team over the years. Malcontents, some of whom were directly responsible for creating the financial fiasco, decide to usurp control of your team citing problems they caused as motivation and justification. You must be flabbergasted. JC: Flabbergasted, astounded, perplexed, betrayed ...take your pick. As I said earlier, 2013 really took a toll on me. DPPI: Can you elaborate? JC: Sure. First, this team is the culmination of years of effort to finding the right mix of players and creating the right atmosphere. It's difficult to find a group of good, competitive, fun players who get along and to balance egos. This team was that right mix. I've run teams since 2002...it's taken a decade plus to get here. Then, to have confused or dissembling characters plunder my work and effort citing, as you so eloquently put, problems THEY caused as motivation and justification is simply implausible. DPPI: What else...what other work, efforts, responsibilities went into building and maintaining this team? JC: Assembling the team is only a part of it. I frequently carried fees for players until they were able to pay. This includes one of the mutineers Steve mentioned. Frequently I paid ump fees for players who forgot to bring money. Last summer, for example, I averaged paying around $6 extra per game. Just for one coed team that comes out to around $100 in additional fees that I paid. DPPI: Anything else? JC: Sure. Silly stuff, really...like chasing after players when the team is short players. All managers do it...especially paying out of pocket when fees are short...when people forget to pay...tourney fees, whatever. I also paid for roster spots for players who committed to play, played, and quit without paying. The thing is...the situation they, the late payers, created...if it was only one person, maybe two people who were late with their fees, I could have probably made that work. Given the amount who were delinquent...that made the situation untenable. I always try to work with people. DPPI: Can you comment on some personal costs? JC: Yes...it was MY name slandered on the message board. I suffered the harassment. People with whom I've played with for years were led to believe it was me who screwed them over...cheated them. It's MY reputation that has been damaged. DPPI: Is it true the mutineers offered you a spot on your team? JC: Yes, it is true. DPPI: What do you think of the offer? JC: I think it was polite...perhaps obligatory. DPPI: Will you play on their Andy's League team? JC: I doubt it. Given what happened...how it happened, it would be hard to play on their team. DPPI: Will you play with individuals from this group? JC: I don't see why not...they're still friends. This isn't about vindictiveness. It's about the opportunity to express what they suppressed. I have the opportunity to speak. DPPI: Do you think what they did was malicious? JC: No, not malicious. On the other hand, the results of their action were hardly benevolent. I'm not sure they understand or fully appreciate the harm they caused. DPPI: Do you think there may have been any other causes for the mutiny? JC: I don't know and I really don't care. I think we have a situation where they felt empowered by the probability of a sponsor. I was the most expendable. I was perceived as the problem, and frankly, rather than admit one's own culpability, it's easier to blame somebody else than to be honest with yourself...employ self deception for comfortable delusion. DPPI: Do you think... JC: I need to add this: one person has taken responsibility. He knows I was treated unfairly and that he was part of the problem...is apologetic. Another person, after hearing only some of this, was dumbfounded. He is in disbelief that people can do this...cause a problem and then hang me out to dry. DPPI: Do you think the effort you put into building and managing your team was appreciated? JC: I think a few people have zero appreciation for my work and effort. Consider their actions: they come into a well established situation, overvalue their worth, ingratiate themselves with someone who potentially has a sponsor, threaten to walk out on the team if such and such doesn't happen, diminish the work and efforts of the person who built the team and disrespect that person, send a misinformed, deceptive, damaging and denigrating recruitment text to my players, claim the team as their own and then oh so politely offer me a spot on my team. DPPI: That is an abject template for roster construction. What do you think about the team as they continue without you? JC: Simply they're not the Dirty Pirates or Dirty Pirate Hookers or DPH. If they have any decency, they'll name themselves after their sponsor or whatever. DPPI: Talk about the recruitment text. JC: I don't know much other than what I was told. I was blamed for the financial situation. Apparently, this text was sent to the entire team. It's shameful...to think some of them deprecated my character to people whom I have known for years. If that's true, they need to issue an apology and need to retract their potential slander to those who were misinformed and to me. DPPI: What are your feelings toward the mutineers? JC: As I said, I'm disappointed in them. If this was handled properly with honesty, respect, you and I are probably talking about the new season or the Pirates' dominance. I just wanted to fade away incognito...not to be thrown off a cliff into a fiery heap. DPPI: Any high points from last year? JC: Absolutely. Winning the 1st Annual RCSO D.A.R.E. Coed Tourney. We beat Frozen Ropes twice...essentially, the team that won a Men's A championship. They stacked their lineup with 9 guys and we beat them with 7 guys. DPPI: Ultimately, one could say you deserve a better farewell. JC: And one could say deserves got nothing to do with it. DPPI: Thank you again, John C, for your time. As I review my notes, I'll list some important points you made. Please feel free to correct or add comments.
DPPI: You're welcome. Part II of this interview with John C will be posted soon. Thank you for reading. |
Copyright March 11, 2014 by DPPI, Dirty Pirate Press International | |
