Break Up Bill of Rights

I was having an interesting conversation with one of my friends today about a situation he found himself in over the weekend.

He had a platonic sleepover (a topic for another day, but long story short, I think they are completely lame and a waste. girls who pull this off are teases and should be incarcerated) with a hot chick that happens to be good friends with a girl that he dated for a while. This chick ended the relationship a few weeks ago against my buddies wishes. But for some reason my buddy felt it would have been "shady" if they hooked up.

Let me explain, why he is wrong.......

When there is a break up, there is a breaker and a breakee. The breaker has made the decision that he/she no longer has any desire to be with the other party, therefore has relinquished all claims. So in this situation my buddy is a "free agent." He could nail the chick's mom, as long as she was divorced, her roommate, or her sister and the girl has no right to be upset.

As the "breaker" you do not become a free agent, you become a "restricted free agent." The breakee retains the right to place the "franchise tag" on up to 10 people. He/She can use the tag to keep friends* and family members off the list of "targets of opportunity". The franchise tag can only be lifted by appeal to the breakee by either the breaker or the friend/family member. And the appeal can only be made after a significant cooling off period has elapsed.
* Only friends that the breakee had previous to the break up or were made mutually during the relationship are eligible for the tag. The breaker retains the right to date or hook up with their own friends.

This is important because if a relationship has lasts for a couple of months, you end up mixing groups of friends. So often relationships develop that may make sense to attempt to take to the next level (or at least a drunken bathroom groping). A civilized society has ground rules to deal with such inevitablities.

As you get into your late 20s and early/mid/late 30s, and it becomes obvious that he/she isn't a "QB you can win with", it is time to end the relationship. This seems to be happening a lot currently in Chicago at the moment. It is often difficult/annoying to untangle the new friendships that have developed, following these ground rules keeps everything above board.