John Nieman
I know who I am.
I have, over the past few years, weighed in excess of two hundred and eighty pounds consistently. That is not due to some hormonal deficiency. I enthusiastically celebrated the return of Hostess snacks after their reorganization from bankruptcy.Those who knew me in the 80s might have seen me at a table with blue cups piled to the ceiling at He’s Not Here. When I quit drinking in 2000, the Rhinoceros Club in Greensboro went out of business four months later.
I think it’s fair to say that I have an addictive personality.
And so I have stayed away from sports gambling. Given who I am, I’m pretty confident participation would result in bankruptcy, divorce and homelessness.
And when you look at it objectively, there isn’t really a lot of “sport” involved. Once the oddsmakers have determined the points spread, it appears to me that it’s mostly a matter of good or bad luck. The oddsmakers—the “house”—are the only ones who are guaranteed to win. The only “house” owner ever to go bankrupt is the guy we selected to run our country. Clearly the house always wins.
But this is not about me railing against sports gambling. I believe the people should be allowed to do pretty much whatever they want as long as it doesn’t hurt others. People smoke, people overeat, people drink to excess. That is their decision. I am not against legalized gambling. In fact, I’m in favor of it. I just know it’s something I need to stay away from.
But if there is one thing this Chauncey Billips situation makes clear, it’s that participants in organized sports should be nowhere near gambling of any kind, legalized or otherwise.
And I’m not just talking about betting on the sport in which they’re participating. Elite athletes socialize with and are drawn to other elite athletes. Professional soccer players fly to Formula 1 races and NFL and NBA games. Professional basketball players go to Champions League matches. And afterwards, everyone hangs out with each other. There is a real possibility—in fact, certainty—that players, through their interactions with each other, can be involved in point-shaving and match-fixing across sports lines.
One of the fundamental attractions to sport lies in the fact that the outcome is determined on the field of play and not by some agreement among insiders. We already have professional wrestling.
It is clear to me that every professional, intercollegiate and high school organization should have rules against gambling of any kind by any participant. And that the penalties for violations should be severe. Over the decades that I have been writing in this space, I have been adamantly and consistently opposed to Pete Rose being reinstated in Major League Baseball and stated that he had no place in the Hall of Fame until after his death. His actions were, in my mind, detrimental to the sport of baseball and to sports in general, all the way up until his passing.
Sports gambling by participants in organized sport is an existential threat.
In addition to rules by the organization against sports gambling by participants, I believe there should be criminal sanctions. Sports gambling is an interstate activity and, I believe, can and should be regulated by federal law.
Those participants who should be barred from sports gambling of any kind include players, coaches and any member of a sports team or organization.
As you can imagine, it takes a lot to get a career-long criminal defense attorney to call for more laws. For me, it really is that important.
On a much happier note, it is official: Kip Ward (posthumously) and Victoria Brawley (Ward) will be inducted into the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame on Jan. 24 in Greensboro. This honor is richly deserved by both. They were the heart and soul and sustaining force of Rainbow Soccer for decades. The sports and social impact of that organization cannot be understated. In addition to promoting the sport and sportsmanship, it was and remains an integral part of the community. The number of friends and couples in the area who have uttered the phrase “We met through Rainbow Soccer” is incalculable.
Kudos to Vicky and the memory of Kip.
No real kudos here. Fat Boy Index: 285.