Code of Conduct

Code of Conduct

Effective date: September 1, 2026
Version: 1
Operator: Cresium Capital Partners LLC, doing business as The Gamers Basketball Association (TGBA)
Website: https://playtgba.com
Reports: support@playtgba.com

1. Purpose and reach

TGBA is competitive, but it must remain welcoming enough for established friend groups and individual free agents to participate safely. This Code applies to conduct in TGBA games, website functions, official chats or servers, league communications, streams, social posts directed at TGBA participants, and other off-platform activity that materially affects participant safety or competition integrity.

2. Respect and safety

Participants must not engage in:

- harassment, bullying, intimidation, stalking, or repeated unwanted contact;
- racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, religious hatred, or other discriminatory abuse;
- sexual harassment or sexually explicit conduct directed at an unwilling person;
- threats of violence, encouragement of self-harm, or credible threats to property;
- doxxing, swatting, exposure of private information, or coercion;
- impersonation, fraud, or deceptive recruiting; or
- retaliation against someone who reports a concern in good faith.

Disagreements, trash talk, and competitive emotion do not excuse abusive conduct. Captains are expected to de-escalate problems involving their franchises.

3. Competitive integrity

Participants must not:

- use unauthorized scripts, automation, gameplay manipulation, or prohibited software;
- exploit a known bug after TGBA directs participants not to use it;
- share accounts or allow an unregistered person to play under another gamertag;
- use a player who is not verified, eligible, and officially rostered for the current roster period;
- falsify a score, box score, screenshot, roster, availability statement, or dispute record;
- alter evidence in a misleading way;
- coordinate a fixed result, intentional loss, bribe, or undisclosed competitive arrangement; or
- interfere with another participant's account, connection, evidence, or access.

4. Rosters and free agency

Every player, including each member of a pre-made Crew, must maintain an individual verified TGBA account and personally accept their roster invitation. A captain may not accept legal terms or a roster invitation for someone else.

Free-agent contact must remain respectful and relevant to basketball participation. Captains may not pressure free agents for sensitive personal information. Free agents may decline an invitation or leave the active pool. TGBA does not promise placement, playing time, or continued roster membership.

When a free agent accepts a valid roster invitation, the system should close that person's active free-agent listing for the applicable roster period. A player may not be active on two franchise rosters in the same roster period.

5. Scheduling and attendance

Teams must communicate promptly, arrive during the official Eastern Time window, and use the approved reschedule process. Captains should preserve evidence of material connection failures, opponent nonattendance, or agreed changes.

A 15-minute grace period permits a captain to file a no-show review candidate. It does not create an automatic forfeit. Staff reviews the evidence and applies the published rules.

6. Three-forfeit franchise policy

Only a final staff-confirmed, authoritative, non-overturned forfeit assessed against the franchise counts.

- First counted forfeit: formal warning.
- Second counted forfeit: probation.
- Third counted forfeit: removal from Season One.

If a counted forfeit is overturned or superseded, the franchise's count and status must be recalculated while preserving the audit history. Removal does not automatically transfer or release players and does not automatically verify every remaining game as a forfeit. Staff determines each future game's disposition under the Season rules.

7. Evidence and investigations

Participants must cooperate honestly with reasonable league investigations. Submit only relevant evidence, do not expose unrelated private information, and do not circulate private evidence to embarrass another participant.

TGBA may restrict access temporarily while investigating credible safety, account-security, cheating, fraud, or evidence-integrity concerns. Staff members must disclose conflicts of interest and must not verify or decide a matter involving their own franchise when another authorized reviewer is available.

8. Enforcement

Depending on severity, history, urgency, and the applicable rule, action may include:

- education or informal resolution;
- formal warning;
- probation;
- game or roster restriction;
- result correction or forfeit;
- temporary suspension;
- removal from a franchise;
- franchise removal;
- account deactivation; or
- referral to a platform provider or law enforcement when reasonably necessary.

TGBA is not required to use progressive discipline for severe threats, doxxing, fraud, cheating, evidence tampering, or other conduct requiring immediate protection. The specific three-forfeit progression applies only to counted team-at-fault forfeits.

TGBA may publish a final eligibility, roster, standings, or safety status when that status is necessary for eligibility, rosters, standings, or safety. TGBA does not publish allegations, private reports, investigation evidence, or staff notes.

9. Reports and appeals

Reports should be filed through the designated private form or sent to support@playtgba.com. Include the game, people involved, date, concise description, and relevant evidence. Knowingly false or retaliatory reports may themselves violate this Code.

When an appeal is available, the decision notice will state how and when to appeal. An appeal should identify a rule or factual error and include new or overlooked evidence. Disagreement alone is not proof of error. Whenever practicable, a person who did not make the original decision should review the appeal.

10. Participant acknowledgment

By participating, you agree to follow this Code and understand that conduct affecting TGBA safety or competition integrity may be reviewed even when it occurs outside the website or game lobby.