Note - The following column appears in the September 21, 2007 edition of the Gonzaga Bulletin.
Everyone knows there's nothing like a friendly wager.
You and your buddies are sitting there, watching the game on TV, when suddenly one person suggests making the game "more interesting." From there, the games get more important, money changes hands, and everyone, even those who lose a few bucks, has a good time.
This is sports gambling in its best form: little wagers here and there to make watching the games with friends more fun. Sports betting at its most prevalent does not take this form, however, but rather that of a multimillion dollar industry, whose greed routinely hacks away at the integrity of the game.
It is impossible to avoid it around every bend in the sporting world. Betting on college sports, most notably basketball and football, is accepted as part of the culture. Bookies and Internet gambling sites make a killing on bets on professional sports; though betting on sports is only legal in Las Vegas casinos, the latest lines are featured in almost every daily newspaper, including those on college campuses.
It is there in the collegiate atmosphere where the threat on sports' integrity is the most prominent. In no other situation is it scarier than in college sports, where money, gambling and big-time college programs collide to create an atmosphere ripe with the temptation for scandal.
The NCAA takes a strong stance against gambling by its players, with zero tolerance for those who bet on games. A good stance, in theory, but even with it the possibility of gambling and scandals still looms. With college athletes required to retain their amateur status and therefore unable to be paid for their playing or their likeness, an opportunity to make money by another, less legal means is available.
The forbidden fruit of gambling and point-shaving hangs over the desperate collegian, as snakelike bookmakers in Vegas whisper to them: "It's a sure thing. You deserve to get your money for your athletic gifts. You can control your own destiny, just miss a few shots."
It's not like it hasn't been done before. Look at the 1951 point-shaving scandal involving four schools from New York. Or the 1978 Boston College point-shaving scheme, organized by the mob. It's even happened on the professional side. The "Hit King" Pete Rose bet on games he managed for the Reds. And most recently, NBA referee Tim Donaghy was found to have bet on games he officiated.
When money's involved, everyone listens.
The major sports leagues may say that they try to distance themselves from the concept of sports gambling, but aside from the wordplay, nothing else is done. If the NBA had really been concerned with not letting gambling affect their sport, they would have learned about Donaghy and his cohorts much earlier. Instead, the news came out, and the response by the league was Keystone Kops-esque.
The sad part is that the wheels have begun moving too late for anything substantial to be done about sports gambling in the near future. It has already become ingrained in the sporting culture.
As a microcosm of this, look at ESPN. One minute they bring on a panel admonishing the concept of gambling, game-fixing and point-shaving. Then up next, they bring on their Insider with the latest Vegas odds on the next World Series champ.
The spread on this one doesn't look good.
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