I don’t like basketball; I find it very boring. That being said, I get that it is very popular and couldn’t care less either way. It exists, it’s not for me.
I do, however, know a lot of people who get very worked up over games that have no importance, not because they care deeply about the teams involved, but because they’ve bet on the games and want to win.
It seems like every game on TV is brought to you by at least 2 different sportsbook apps, as are the pre- and post-game shows and each commentator has their line of “tips” and suggested parlays to “help” you bet “smarter.”
Has your life gotten better with the ease of placing bets? Probably not.
Let me say that I don’t care what you do with your money, if you want to bet it all, knock yourself out. You want to heat your house by burning it, so go right to it. If you want to waste as much of what you earn as possible, hit me up and I’ll send you an address to send it to.
I’m very libertarian on the issue. I’m also realistic. Pretty much everyone living a half hour away from a casino or being able to bet on sports or even play games of chance for money on their phone has not made life better for anyone but the casinos. The odds favor the house, always. And while I don’t personally know anyone who has lost everything to gambling, I do know people who’ve lost a lot.
That’s why I wasn’t surprised to learn that the mob has re-infiltrated the gambling racket and the “integrity” of professional sports may well have been compromised because of it.
Yes, pro athletes make a lot of money, but many of them have big circles of friends who they help support, and that ain’t cheap. The idea of faking a hamstring or cramp to pull yourself out of a game, meaningless to anyone but gamblers, so your buddy can make an easy $50,000, is not that complicated. Neither is missing a couple of shots; even pros have off days.
The only shocking thing is it hasn’t happened more often, at least as far as we know…yet.
Think of how easy it would be to throw a Super Bowl or just an NFL playoff game, or any NFL game. You’re probably not going to get a quarterback or star player, but you could get a lineman or long-snapper. They make good money, but not the kind of money gambling throws around. And it’s not outside the norm for someone to get burned every once in a while, even on a crucial play, or a field goal or a punt snap to go sideways and keep points off the board.
With so much a stake, I’d be shocked if it hasn’t happened already.
I suspect that’s why you haven’t really heard that much about the NBA betting scandal since the story initially broke – no professional sport wants anyone looking too closely at their league or players. These people have tons of cash and a lot of time on their hands; there’s no doubt they at least play high-stakes poker, if only out of boredom and for the rush.
That attracts degenerates looking to take advantage of the situation and get some inside dope, if not influence, on games. There is no way the leagues and their officials didn’t know this, yet they’ve all got at least one “official” sportsbook, if not more.
The footage of the NBA player allegedly faking his injury took place on a court with a sportsbook’s name painted on the floor, for crying out loud.
None of this means that professional or college (where the money would mean even more to the players) sports are not on the up-and-up, but it does mean they might not be. And while there is no way to remove the temptation completely, maybe not partnering with gambling companies would be a good place to start. It’s hard to lecture your kid on the evils of smoking and drinking while shotgunning a beer and choking down a Marlboro.
At some point, however, we are going to have to look at whether or not making gambling on everything easier than making a phone call was a good thing or not. The evidence has yet to come out on how far the corruption in sports goes, I’m not sure the evidence on that question is as muddled.
Derek Hunter is the host of the Derek Hunter Show on WMAL in Washington, DC, and has a free daily podcast (subscribe!) and author of the book, Outrage, INC., which exposes how liberals use fear and hatred to manipulate the masses, and host of the weekly “Week in F*cking Review” podcast where the news is spoken about the way it deserves to be. Follow him on Twitter at @DerekAHunter.