Talk about a bad call! There’s a job opening at a major investment firm in Texas because the last guy was sacked – for playing fantasy football at work.

According to a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a “relationship manager” at a Fidelity Investments regional office was recently let go from the company because he organized a fantasy football league at work.

Cameron Pettigrew worked at the office for 2 and a half years. He’s a smart guy – he has an MBA and expected to retire working for Fidelity, which is one of the nation’s largest mutual fund companies. When managers found out about the office games, they explained there was a strict rule against gambling at work. A one day suspension turned into a full-on firing for him, and three of his co-workers.

The interesting part is that Pettigrew was careful not to use his work email for anything related to the extra-curricular activities. His managers found out about the league because of fantasy football keywords they intercepted as he chatted with friends through an instant messaging program.

According to a Fidelity spokesperson, the company has clear policies that relate to gambling, and wants its employees to be focused on “customers and clients,” not the first round draft pick.

The firing sends a mixed messages to offices around the nation, where cubicles are filled with folks checking their stats and making trades during the work day. Holiday parties often involve raffles and come Super Bowl time, everyone is picking squares.

Before you bail on your buddies, you might want to read up on US Code 31 Section 5362 to shed some light on the subject, or if that’s too dense for you, Pettigrew sums up the situation pretty well.

“Firing a guy for being in a $20 fantasy league? Let’s be honest; that’s a complete overreaction,” he told the Star-Telegram.

Story by: Ed Orum on aol.com