As the countdown to Super Bowl Sunday draws near, here is a cautionary tale for fans devoted to their sport and its place in the world of work.

In the last quarter of 2009, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas) reported that four employees of Fidelity Investments had been fired for their involvement in a fantasy football league. The company said that they had intercepted workplace instant messaging involving football conversations. Fidelity’s position was that they had made their policy about “no gambling on the job” clear to their workforce, and that fantasy sports activities were not permitted on company time.

The league members defended their participation by responding that Fidelity employees did not take this policy seriously and that their $20 personal investments in their indulgence hardly constituted hardcore betting. In fact, Fidelity’s reference to fantasy sports as “gambling” caught the attention of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, which issued its own press release as a result of the firing, noting that it was disappointed by Fidelity’s actions and their promotion of the perception that fantasy sports are linked to gambling. The Association also said in their release that Congress recognizes the distinction between fantasy sports and criminal sports gambling, and has written exclusionary language around fantasy sports play.

Workplace Fumble: Fantasy Football Called for Interference | Long Island Press.