Biz
There are a dozen options that both Freo and the Dees could have pursued in their respective cases.
It is debatable whether Freo's the right 'punishment', or too hard. It is debatable whether the Dees punishment was right , or too soft. We can all argue the intricacies till the cows come home.
Point is, Freo had a player-agreed rule. I assume the repercussions of breaching the rule were also agreed, and known to the playing group.
If you choose to breach that, thats your choice. Cop the consequences and move on, one way or another.
I have a mate who bought a motorbike that had the rear number plate tipped up. When he bought it he told me, and others, that it was illegal to have the number plate tipped up that much.
I looked at it and thought "wtf, why is that illegal" as despite the relatively slight angle, you could still *easily* read the number plate from a distance - it didn't provide meaningful obstruction.
He said he was going to fix it, as it was an on the spot $1000 fine (according to him).
About a year later, the cops pulled him over and gave him a $1000 fine for the angle on his number plate.
He tried to argue the point, saying it was like that when he bought it, but since he'd owned it for 12 months they rejected his argument.
Maybe it is a stupid law. Maybe the cops were a bit stiff. Point is, he knew the rule, he knew the punishment, and he chose to do nothing about it, and he got pinged. Sound familiar?
Guess what? Within a week he fixed the bike. And so did 2 of our other mates.
Alternatively, he could have run the gauntlet and left it as is (...keep drinking against the agreed timelines), or he could have sold his bike (...move club), or stopped riding all together (...retire to WAFL).
Freo players have another option that my mate doesn't: they could change the rule (and its agreed 'punishment') if they want.
Or they can choose to keep it.
