My love of sports began when I was a toddler. Now, I’m 68, and my passion is in jeopardy. I grew up watching the Denver Broncos and the Denver Rockets, an American Basketball Association team. I could engage my brothers and dad in a game of one-upmanship over who knew more.
That was then. My reality today is very different. I am a lost soul when it comes to rooting for my favorite teams. What has changed to deplete my enthusiasm?
The NBA betting scandal.
Just to review, last week, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups, and Miami Heat player, Terry Rozier, were arrested in a large-scale gambling scheme. The arrests involved 30 other people and a sprawling gambling operation backed by five Mafia families.
The FBI has been investigating two suspected gambling operations — “Operation Nothing But Bet” and “Operation Royal Flush.” Some of the reported activities in these probes include:
—Sharing unreleased information about players who would be sitting out, providing an advantage to those placing bets. For example, Damon Jones shared that LeBron James would be sitting out a game. The lag time between this knowledge and the resulting point spread creates significant profit-making opportunities.
—Becoming a people-magnet for rigged gambling parties attended by star athletes. The star’s presence would bring in fresh prey for a well-designed scam. It is reported that these sports-gambling partnerships enabled more than $7 million in rigged poker games. The rings used advanced technology, including an X-ray poker table to fix games, special glasses for marked cards, and hidden cameras in shuffling machines. The Mafia’s role was to enforce debts and launder money.
—Fixing an outcome through poor play and/or suspicious injury. It is alleged that Rozier made this series of uncharacteristic errors. Allegations are that his performance was triggered by more than $200,000 in “under” prop wagers on Rozier’s points, assists and three-pointers.
Why does a betting scandal involving uber-athletes that I only watch on television and will never really know have such an effect on me?
Sports have been that place where hard-working athletes apply themselves in ways unimaginable so that we, on the sidelines, can marvel at their capabilities and be inspired.
The sports arena has given me an aspirational message. It reminds me of what is possible when you focus on stretch goals, team play and mental fortitude.
And now?
Those endeavors are tainted. Some well-paid athletes who represented the best around appear to be money-grubbers putting their families and teams at risk for a few extra dollars.
Today’s scandal may involve only a small subset of athletes, and it would be unfair to tarnish the entire field. However, we can no longer be sure that what we see is honest play. Also, there are rumblings that players’ involvement in gambling extends beyond basketball into other sports.
To add salt to my wound, amid all the probing and thoughtful conversations about “what do we know and why did they do it,” comes the voice of ESPN talking heads.
Last week, one of the most prominent talking heads, earning $40 million annually, found numerous reasons not to blame the athletes for the betting scandal. He allowed his hatred of a certain president to color his opinion and believes his administration is on an NBA witch hunt. This view is problematic for several reasons.
The FBI investigation predates current politics by a substantial amount of time. Further, when did we decide that people don’t own their bad behavior and poor judgment? Billups is a grown man, leading a team of players. Why isn’t there outrage at Billups’ poor choice of being a front man to a rigged poker table? Finally, think about how many players’ fortunes are now put at risk by a compromised league.
The great moments in our world of sports now seem sullied by the cloud of what can I believe and what has been manufactured?
In an era when we are not sure what we can trust and question where we are headed as a nation, the sporting scandal feels like an unnecessary swipe. Once all investigations are complete, integrity is restored, so we can root for our teams and return to the simple pleasure of being sports enthusiasts.
That would be my version of a home run.
