Investigative Committee Identifies Chicago Brawn Owner Arlington as Source Behind Smear Campaign
August 24, 2027; New York, NY- In a bombshell report released this morning, the independent investigative committee hired by the OIB to identify the source of an online smear campaign targeting dozens of league players identified Chicago Brawn owner and ZeusX founder Peter Arlington as the perpetrator. The committee, which includes a leading investigative reporter and several former members of various intelligence agencies, has been working the case since incriminating images of OIB players began appearing online in April of this year.
“I don’t think any of the players whose characters were attacked and whose reputations were tarnished feel vindicated,” said OIBPA President Damian McCollum while speaking to reporters after the news broke. “I also don’t think that any of this came as a surprise to us. When this campaign against OIB players was first launched, several of us believed an owner was behind the leak, and I think if you asked any of us at the time which owner was most likely to be behind it, we would have all pointed to Arlington.”
Sonya Gutierrez, President of the OIB, spoke to reporters after the committee’s chair shared the findings with the press, saying, “This is inexcusable. It is an action that undermines not only the trust the OIB has built with its fans, but the reputation of everyone that puts so much of themselves into the OIB. Mark my words- we will take swift action- and my recommendation is that the action be harsh and reflect the severity of this offense. Peter Arlington has embarrassed himself, and far more importantly as far as I’m concerned, has disgraced our league.”
Disgraced Chicago Brawn owner Peter Arlington leaves his office just moments after being told he must sell the Chicago Brawn, the result of a vote across his fellow owners and the OIB management team.
Just two hours later, Gutoierrez returned to the podium, where she announced that, at an emergency meeting, Arlington’s fellow owners had voted unanimously to ban him from the OIB. “Mr. Arlington will be forbidden from attending any league events and must begin the process of selling the Chicago Brawn. At this time, we will not mandate a date by which the sale must be completed, but if Mr. Arlington attempts to drag his feet, we will meet again to provide him with a date by which the team must be divested. For me, even tomorrow would not be soon enough.”
Peter Arlington could not be reached for comment and refused to make any statements to reporters even as they followed him from his office to his ground transport moments after Gutierrez made her final announcement of the day.
There were many that suspected Arlington was the source of the leaks all along, believing it to be a measure for gaining leverage in the negotiations. Throughout the player strike, Arlington has been outspoken about what he believes to be a “ridiculous list of demands” being made by the players. Of course, as the owner of ZeusX, the most widely used app in the world, Arlington could hypothetically have access to the phones, social media accounts, messaging services, and more of almost anyone in the world. However, if Arlington breached security and privacy laws to access such information, he will have much bigger issues ahead than his expulsion from the OIB.
An independent committee completed an exhaustive investigation of the online leaks that incriminated dozens of OIB players in April. The report identified Chicago Brawn owner and ZeusX founder Peter Arlington as the source of the leaked documents and photos.
Sports personality Big Grip weighed in on the situation with his own perspective. “The truth is, most of the owners probably loved what he did. They would’ve probably all done the same thing if they could have, and don’t believe none of them knew what he was up to. But when it came time to vote, you know what happened? They realized this was the chance they’d all been waiting for to push out the man who changed the game and kicked all their asses. That’s why it was unanimous. Not because they’re a group of men and women taking the high road. Nope, this was about eliminating the biggest competitive threat. And who knows, maybe we’ll see some more parity return to the OIB now.”
This much is clear: the events that transpired over the last 24 hours have drastically changed the outlook for the ongoing player’s strike, and now that the investigative committee’s work is done, Gutierrez can return her focus to bringing the strike to an end. The only questions are, at what cost, and how will this all affect the future of the OIB.