Copyright Arkansas Online
Everyone saw this coming, except the NBA. And yet, when news broke last week about FBI arrests, including a current NBA head coach and player, those who have promoted the marriage of sports and gambling said they were shocked and disappointed. "I was deeply disturbed," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "There's nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition. And so I had a pit in my stomach, it was very upsetting." Silver has been the matchmaker between bookies and sports. His leadership has brought more leagues to the betting table. And while he has insisted that everything should be above board, he has made statements that sound like punting responsibility for enforcement to others. In 2014, he called on Congress to legalize sports betting nationwide "subject to strict regulatory requirements and technological safeguards." Let's face it: Congress is the last place we should go looking for ethical clarity and problem-solving. Despite apologists minimizing the story, last week's news was, indeed, extraordinary. Pro sports has had gambling controversies before--the 1919 Chicago White Sox, Pete Rose, etc.--but we're not aware of any time an active head coach was arrested for something like this. And yet, it was as predictable as the Cowboys playing on Thanksgiving. Gambling invites bad behavior. Sports betting can be innocent fun for some, but it's an existential threat for modern sports and their fans. As former Louisiana State University researcher Robert Mann wrote in these pages last year, sports gambling has become epidemic on college campuses. A 2023 report from the NCAA found that 67 percent of students on campus are gamblers. Betting is particularly high among young men who are more likely to take risks. "This industry's huge profits," Mann wrote, "depend upon the irresponsibility and recklessness of those using the platforms." The lesson here isn't just about betting. It's about wisdom. Reaping and sowing. Collectively, we've reached the point where we make foolish decisions, then act surprised when they produce negative results. We're doing the same thing with marijuana now, and with violence. We flood our corner stores, public spaces, Internet feeds and gaming consoles with pot and guns, then expect to live in a sober, safe society. In gambling terms, we are the amateurs betting big before the flop, then hoping for a good card on the river. And there are always canny operators waiting to take advantage of dupes like that.
