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This was a pretty shocking story, and it's only just beginning. So far, it has only hit the NBA, but you have to wonder if there's similar activity going on in the NFL, MLB, and NHL, if this is just the tip of an iceberg:

A massive betting scandal has hit American basketball, with players and a coach now facing charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States attorney for Brooklyn announced two indictments in what they say is a massive cheating conspiracy involving current and former basketball players, coaches and members of New York’s organised crime families. On Thursday, the FBI also carried out arrests, including of NBA players allegedly involved in the scam.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nba/nb ... 7df5&ei=21

Most of it involves cheating and insider information and there's nothing in these charges that suggests the fixing of games or altering player performances, at least not yet. It also involves organized crime, perhaps the most concerning part of this story.

All of the major sports have jumped in bed with the gambling industry as it's a major source of revenue for them, so in a sense, they're the ones that have been tickling the tail of the dragon.

100% inevitable. As soon as sports betting was legalized this was guaranteed. There's just too much money involved for it to stay clean.

c_hawkbob wrote:100% inevitable. As soon as sports betting was legalized this was guaranteed. There's just too much money involved for it to stay clean.

Agreed. There's a reason why sports leagues were so paranoid about the gambling industry over the past hundred plus years. It's an extremely difficult industry to regulate.

It'll eventually hit the NFL. I think it's inevitable.

NorthHawk wrote:It'll eventually hit the NFL. I think it's inevitable.

I think so, too. I also think that it'll hit MLB and the NHL, if it hasn't already. Like C-Bob said, there's too much money involved for it not to happen.

Hard to understand how people so wealthy (comparatively) would risk it all on illegal sht like this. I know not everyone is set for life (although I haven't seen any names yet that shouldn't be), and I know greed is part of human nature, but still.

burrrton wrote:Hard to understand how people so wealthy (comparatively) would risk it all on illegal sht like this. I know not everyone is set for life (although I haven't seen any names yet that shouldn't be), and I know greed is part of human nature, but still.

Some things that might cause newly wealthy individuals to gamble is they may have been gambling before they got big money or being competitive almost to a fault they try it and it becomes something addictive. So much so that they endanger their careers and if associated with the wrong people endanger their lives. Some of them might just not be too smart of course.

burrrton wrote:Hard to understand how people so wealthy (comparatively) would risk it all on illegal sht like this. I know not everyone is set for life (although I haven't seen any names yet that shouldn't be), and I know greed is part of human nature, but still.

NorthHawk wrote:Some things that might cause newly wealthy individuals to gamble is they may have been gambling before they got big money or being competitive almost to a fault they try it and it becomes something addictive. So much so that they endanger their careers and if associated with the wrong people endanger their lives. Some of them might just not be too smart of course.

I was thinking the same thing. How many times do you see a wealthy person get a DUI when they could easily afford a cab or Uber?

An addiction is one possible explanation. Another is that there are some people that can be talked into doing anything no matter how dangerous or illogical, that if they were a woman, they'd constantly be pregnant because they don't know how to say "No!"

Good points, NH and RD.

Seems extraordinary success doesn't prevent people from doing really stupid, unnecessary things to get more.

Makes you wonder if there is more to the Ohtani scandal than his assistant gambling. Though you would think MLB players and coaches wouldn't risk it given what happened to Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe. They already had a big scandala and the punishment was extreme. NBA may need to set a similar example.

Aseahawkfan wrote:Seems extraordinary success doesn't prevent people from doing really stupid, unnecessary things to get more.

Makes you wonder if there is more to the Ohtani scandal than his assistant gambling. Though you would think MLB players and coaches wouldn't risk it given what happened to Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe. They already had a big scandala and the punishment was extreme. NBA may need to set a similar example.

Chauncy Billips, current head coach of the Blazers and a central figure in the scandal, has been accused of providing insider information about the condition of his team so that bettors could take advantage of it and bet against his team to win. He's already been enshrined in the basketball HOF. They have never removed a member after they've been inducted. The league has suspended him indefinitely. It will be interesting to see how the Hall reacts if Billips is tried and convicted.

At this point, it's only accusations and charges. We haven't seen what kind of evidence the FBI has against the accused, so we have to resist the urge to jump to conclusions. But it's hard to imagine that they would go this far unless they had some pretty convincing evidence.

River Dog wrote:Chauncy Billips, current head coach of the Blazers and a central figure in the scandal, has been accused of providing insider information about the condition of his team so that bettors could take advantage of it and bet against his team to win. He's already been enshrined in the basketball HOF. They have never removed a member after they've been inducted. The league has suspended him indefinitely. It will be interesting to see how the Hall reacts if Billips is tried and convicted.

At this point, it's only accusations and charges. We haven't seen what kind of evidence the FBI has against the accused, so we have to resist the urge to jump to conclusions. But it's hard to imagine that they would go this far unless they had some pretty convincing evidence.

How would you feel about it if The Mafia was blackmailing him? Would you have more or less sympathy?

River Dog wrote:Chauncy Billips, current head coach of the Blazers and a central figure in the scandal, has been accused of providing insider information about the condition of his team so that bettors could take advantage of it and bet against his team to win. He's already been enshrined in the basketball HOF. They have never removed a member after they've been inducted. The league has suspended him indefinitely. It will be interesting to see how the Hall reacts if Billips is tried and convicted.

At this point, it's only accusations and charges. We haven't seen what kind of evidence the FBI has against the accused, so we have to resist the urge to jump to conclusions. But it's hard to imagine that they would go this far unless they had some pretty convincing evidence.

Aseahawkfan wrote:How would you feel about it if The Mafia was blackmailing him? Would you have more or less sympathy?

That's hard to answer. It would depend on how he got mixed up with the Mafia in the first place. Did he know, or should he have known, that they were shady characters but befriended them anyway, entered into some other arrangement with them? If that's the case, probably not. Did a family member get mixed up with them and he unknowingly got ensnared with them? I might have some sympathy for him.

That's going to be one of the biggest questions, is how Billips and the others came to know these Mafia folks. The Mafia has pretty much been marginalized in 21st century America. They're kinda like rattlesnakes. You pretty much have to go looking for them rather than them finding you. They don't have near the power and influence they had 30+ years ago. Gone are the days when they used to control labor unions and gambling casinos, which are now heavily regulated by federal and state agencies. The surveillance technology that is everywhere nowadays has made it extremely difficult for an illicit organization as big and powerful as it would take to blackmail high rollers like professional athletes to operate in secrecy.

But who knows. To me, that the most shocking thing about this story, the involvement of organized crime.