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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Dan Lyons

Trout Responds to Criticism of Fantasy Football Commissioner Duties

Mike Trout may be the best player in MLB, but he caught some major heat for another very important role that he plays in the sports world: fantasy football commissioner.

Last week, Reds outfielder Tommy Pham earned a three-game suspension for slapping Joc Pederson before a game, over a disagreement stemming from their fantasy league last year. He also took a shot at Trout, the league’s commissioner, over his handling of a controversy stemming from the league’s IR rules, calling him “the worst commissioner in fantasy sports.”

Naturally, Trout was asked about his role in the situation on Wednesday, and he said that he’s spoken to both Pham and Pederson about the situation. 

“Everybody’s competitive,” he said. “Everybody loves fantasy football. … I talked to Tommy, I talked to Joc. Everybody that was part of it, just passionate about fantasy football.

“Am I going to resign? I haven’t made a decision,” Trout said, amid a chorus of laughs from the media. “Every commissioner I know always gets booed.”

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As fans try to get to the bottom of what has become one of the most famous fantasy football disputes in sports history over the last few days, Trout would not confirm or deny whether Pederson actually skirted his league’s IR rules.

“I’m not answering that question. It’s in the past,” Trout says. “You guys are dragging it on. But it’s a legendary fantasy football league for sure.”

MLB has to hope that things don’t get as physical as they did on Friday, but fans are certainly going to want to hear more about this league once football season rolls around in September. 

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