Who would have thought that being a whistleblower would have invited so much abuse, personal attack, lies, slander, invective and vitriol?

Probably every whistleblower, ever.

Well, it had to be done. The good thing is the ramifications were negligible: no job loss, no jail time, no fine, no real penalty. And like in most all “whistleblower” cases, I was right, so at least I had that on my side.

Seven calendar days is what one has to file a “request for disciplinary action” (used in this story interchangeably with “complaint”) with the league. Further to that, anyone, but especially someone in a position of authority (like a team captain), has an obligation to act to prevent further abuse when it is observed, and when faced with such a situation then not filing a complaint would be a violation of that code of conduct.

Knowing the rules — because, unlike most everyone, I read the rules — I knew what had to be done, and the timeframe in which to do it. Because I was a witness to at least some of the events which took place, I was even more well-placed to submit a complaint, more than just a “I was made aware of…” situation, since I experienced some of what happened.

So I filed a complaint.

“You were expressly asked by person1, person2, and myself not to communicate outwards on behalf of the people involved or the team/club” was part of a message I received almost immediately after submitting my complaint.

Yep, and so what? You can ask, but that doesn’t mean I must comply! Not only do they not control my rights, I didn’t file anything on behalf of anyone other than me; if they had read my complaint and understood it — two things which apparently did not happen — this would not have been in doubt. Their request also ignored others who specifically supported me in filing a complaint (people other than person1, person2, and himself) due to the serious nature of the allegations, of which they were the victims. Finally, their increasingly unreasonable request ignored the responsibility and obligation I have as the team captain and witness to such abuse, to file a complaint, in a well-defined period of time.

But hey, they don’t care about the abuse, or other people’s feelings on the matter. They do care about their appearance, how their club looks, some warped perception of ‘respectability’, and how this affects them personally.

“We will be as a club moving to disassociate the club from your letter.“

“Your actions are totally unacceptable“

Good? I really don’t care what you think. My action of filing a complaint in the face of misogynistic, objectifying abuse is “unacceptable”? This is a “club” of ad-hoc individuals with no defined roles working in agreement to play softball — and apparently, now, we no longer agree, so… fuck right off. We’re clearly not on the same side. I see you.

But wait, it gets worse! Not only did these people object to an official complaint being filed, one of the club members (who is not on my team, has no defined role, and was not in attendance, but is on the league committee handling complaints!) then actively worked to interfere with and suppress the complaint at the league level! “I have asked SL to postpone getting back to us until we resolve this within our Club.”

So you’re gonna unilaterally decide that my complaint — which I filed on my behalf, which I have a right and obligation to submit, because I witnessed inappropriate behavior by a league official at a league event — will NOT be investigated, and instead you’ve decided this was to be resolved “within our Club”?

This I cannot abide. There must be accountability and consequences. One cannot simply walk into a police station and ask the authorities to not investigate a crime that’s just been reported.

Since my initial complaint was filed, more than 14 calendar days have passed with no action or response yet from the league. What could possibly happen next?