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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays must be turning in their graves. Both were banned from taking part in baseball activities after they retired because they made public relations appearances for casinos. Mantle in Las Vegas; Mays in Atlantic City.
Both played before the era of million dollar contracts. In retirement, they probably needed the money. But sports were so concerned about even the impression of being tied to gambling, two of their stars connected to casinos was unacceptable.
My how that has changed. Major League Baseball broadcasts are sponsored by FanDuel and Draft Kings and MGM Grand these days. The money lines on the game you’re watching scroll across the bottom of the screen. Major League Baseball even placed a franchise in Vegas, something that would have been unthinkable even in the 80s and 90s.
The NFL also has a team in Vegas, and the city will host the Super Bowl for a second time in 2029.
The NBA, which holds its all star game in Las Vegas, opening talks about placing an expansion franchise there.
College sports? This year’s NCAA Frozen Four will be in Las Vegas too.
I believe ties to gambling will ruin sports.
I love horse racing, but one of the reasons the sport is in decline is because of gambling-related cheating. The number of trainers who are also “chemists” is legendary. No one on the outside knows which horses are juiced and which races are fixed. But it happens. And many fewer people will bet if the outcome isn’t legitimate. I have no way of knowing how often my betting money was stolen because the fix was in.
This has already happened in college basketball. Point shaving – winning or losing but within the gambling point spread – is fairly easy and difficult to prove. Just take a few wild shots or miss some free throws. Several players at smaller schools in the south were kicked out. They don’t get big-bucks Name Image and Likeness payments, so getting paid by gamblers is better money.
We’re late in the basketball season, where many teams are eliminated from playoff consideration. Who’s to say that a meaningless basketball game can’t be fixed. And the NBA has a long and colorful history of referees with ties to gambling.
I enjoy sports. But my interest in watching sporting events where the outcome is fixed is zero. Everyone is in bed with sports betting. Fixes are inevitable. They’re already happening. The unknown is how often.
Chris Conley
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