Sports Gambling and Its Negative Impact on the Games We Love Essay Example

Sports Gambling and Its Negative Impact on the Games We Love Essay Example Sports Gambling and Its Negative Impact on the Games We Love Essay Sports Gambling and Its Negative Impact on the Games We Love Essay In a time of peace – those years in between wars – there is no other activity that can elevate man’s thinking, inspire the average guy, and keeps a man talking endlessly for hours other than sports. In America sports is sometimes treated like religion. And for those who view it this way the more popular denominations are Basketball, Baseball, Football and Golf.Americans are dead serious in following the progress of their favorite teams and to increase their participation they not only subscribe to cable TV programming, buy expensive sports magazines, browse ESPN.com, and buy sports jerseys. A significant number of Americans bet on games. As a result sports gambling in the U.S. have become a serious problem. It is similar to addiction with a banned substance; no one can see its negative impact on the person until more serious self-destructive behavior emerges.BackgroundJust recently I came across this article in Yahoo.com about the highest paid athletes in the world of sports. I cannot remember the title of the said piece, the date it was written and who the author was but I cannot forget the names found on that list. The mention of big money is a sure way of getting somebody’s attention and I took a mental note of the following names, T. Woods, K. Bryant, A-Rod, S. O’Neil, B. Favre, L. James etc.I am sure that even without revealing their full names the reader has a good idea who these guys are. They are global celebrities and the mention of their names signifies the fact that the games they represent are recognized in every corner of this planet. As mentioned earlier sports is treated like religion in the U.S., meaning a considerable amount of time, money and efforts is spent just to participate in these events. And it does not matter whether the games are played by professionals or college athletes for many the thrill and excitement remains the same.There is no explanation needed as to why Americans love sports. For me sports like basketball and baseball are activities that can offer countless benefits. For some it is entertainment, the best way to chill is to sit back, relax and watch a game on a wide-screen TV. One way of releasing all that stress is to buy tickets and watch a game live. Rooting for a home team is like going to war except that everyone comes alive. If the home team wins those who are there to witness the game can come home feeling so good. And the feeling stays even after a few days. For others sports is a component of a healthy lifestyle that encourages exercise and the desire for a fit body.Baseball or basketball for that matter is more than a game for many Americans. Its purpose is more than entertainment or to give an excuse on how to spend the weekends and holidays. For many, baseball and basketball is like religion; one that an avid fan uses to aid him in the path to happiness. It helps get his mind pre-occupied, distracting him from the cares of the world. It gives him respite from the mind numbing repetitive work at the office or the manufacturing plant. For a few moments he does not worry about bills to pay and other mundane tasks. It can even help him forget about the evils in the world like the threat of terrorism.Paul Staudohar explains the effect of sports in the lives of people and he said, The games recall the playful, simpler times of spectators’ own childhoods and help keep them young (1991, p.190). It is therefore important to keep the traditions alive. The survival of this society can be assured if Dads can continually bring their sons to sports stadiums and together enjoy that magical moment. The son grows up to become a father and continues the tradition of bringing sons and daughters to see their sports heroes in action. The bonding between parent and child that occurs during these precious moments could not be described by words.But there is a growing problem that threatens to undermine all that is beautiful and beneficial about sports. This is the phenomenon of sports gambling or sports betting. At the onset one can easily enumerate a few of the negative impacts of sports gambling:1. encourages cheating e.g. game fixing;2. attracts organized crime; and3. bankruptcy and other money problems.Betting on GamesThere are many ways that an athlete can damage his or her career. Some of them would unintentionally harm their career by getting hooked on illegal substances or the practice of illegal activities. Another path that many athletes chose to follow on a self-destructive lifestyle is gambling. Staudohar, stated that There are three basic principal behavior problems in professional sports: violence, gambling and chemical abuse (1991, p.191). With prohibited drugs it is relatively easy to detect those who are suffering under its influence, but with gambling no one can be so sure until bankruptcy is announced and until game fixing is suspected.The difficulty in eradicating this problem can be explained by the pervasiveness of gambling. This is an interesting fact considering that it is illegal to bet on college and professional games in every state in the U.S. except for Nevada. In 1998 alone, $2.3 billion was legally wagered on sports in Nevada where 40 percent of the money was placed on college games. The amount is mind-boggling considering the fact that this is a highly regulated system the only place in the U.S. where betting is allowed. Now, be prepared to be blown away with the figures from the illegal side of sports gambling. With regards to illegal sports gambling made nationwide, it was estimated that the dollar amount soar as high as $ 380 billion (French, 2004, p. 108).With this kind of money floating around it is no wonder that everyone is turning a blind eye and basically ignores the problem. Aside from the overwhelming force of gambling there are other reasons why parents, teachers and even game officials condone the idea of betting. For them it is harmless and they justify gambling as a better alternative to drugs.Furthermore, it does not require the mind of a rocket scientists to understand the excitement that betting brings in to the lives of sports spectators. It is said that nothing becomes important unless something is at stake. And therefore in order to make the game more meaningful friends, family members or neighbors come together and place bets.With this kind of culture it is easy to go from innocent betting among friends into something organized that encourages systematic and regular betting on games that does not even involve the home team. When this happens it is a tell-tale sign of a compulsive gambler. They wager not for the simple fun of it but with the intent of creating a money-making scheme. This is where the problem begins and as mentioned earlier it has become a multi-billion dollar industry.Negative ImpactIn the world of professional athletes the Hall of Shame is littered with names that once were highly respected in their sport but now are ridiculed as a symbol of what is terribly wrong with U.S. sports organizations. These are professional athletes who seem to be never contented with their fat paychecks and continue to dabble in illegal schemes.But the problem concerning game fixing and the involvement of organized crime is not only limited to the pros. Collegiate level sports games is a major part in illegal sports betting in the country. Moreover the problem involves the players, game officials, students and all those who help perpetuate the said illegal activities.Myles Brand of the NCAA remarked that, Sports wagering is a double-threat because it harms the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of the sports (as cited in Rogers, 2005, p. 52). From this statement one can glean two major results of sports gambling and that is game fixing or manipulating game results to dictate point spread. This can also lead in the rise of gambling junkies among students. Compulsive gambling is like an addiction and instead of getting high, the gambling addict will continually have money problems in order to sustain his or her habit. For a student this is a very bad precedent, one that can seriously affect the rest of his life.The same thing applies to professional athletes. Game fixing and compulsive gambling are two major problems that needed to be eradicated to ensure the integrity of the sport. This can be fully understood by looking at high profile cases where careers where placed in jeopardy because of the lack of self-control when it comes to gambling. As a result the public slowly begins to lose interest and if things will continue to slide then there is a possibility that more and more people will abandon the game they once love.In the Major League Baseball and the National Basketball association two cases involving illegal gambling will be discussed. For basketball the recent headline-grabbing scandal of a referee involved not only in game fixing but possible collusion with the criminal underworld has created some major disturbances in the league.In baseball, the legendary career of Pete Rose was flushed down the toilet when he could not control the urge to gamble. It is a terrible waste to be sure but sometimes it is hard to understand why someone would give up something special in exchange for a few moments of exhilaration from placing a wager.Gambling in the NBATim Donaghy is a member of an elite group of referees. He works for the NBA. At the time that he was fired from the league he was only 40 years old and at the peak of his career. There is no doubt that that he is pulling in substantial paychecks considering that he is part of the crew that works on playoff games. Moreover, ESPN.com reported that he lives in a gated community.Without even considering the amount of money he pulls in every year from his dream job, Donaghy is in a position of influence being an NBA referee. But he literally gambled it all away, not only his job but his life and his family. He will live the rest of his life in ridicule and there are only a few places in this planet where his misdeeds will not be recognized. He will live the rest of his life with a negative label.His actions seriously damaged the credibility of the league and many are shaking their heads in disgust. One could just imagine what a die-hard fan would have felt after receiving the news that Donaghy influenced the outcome of games. There are a number of controversial games where Donaghy was part of the officiating crew. One could not help wonder if Donaghy played a part in manipulating the results.It really pisses me off thinking about those games. For a true basketball fan a crucial game involving his favorite team will be followed with much gusto and every possession and every play made during the course of the game is savored like an expensive Cuban cigar. Now, here comes Donaghy admitting to having a hand in influencing the outcome of games; it makes me feel like a fool, like a puppet on a string. It may have been better for me if I just watched WWF wrestling, at least I know from the onset that the game was scripted and rehearsed.Gambling in Major League BaseballIn the infamous Black Sox Scandal that shocked the world of baseball Stanley Teitelbaum in his book Sports Heroes, Fallen Idols, recounted the impact of the scandal:In September 1920 the world of organized baseball was rocked by the news that eight players on the Chicago White Sox had conspired with gamblers to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The White Sox were the stronger team on paper and were heavy favorites to win the series, but before the opening game in Cincinnati the odds had shifted drastically in favor of the Reds. It is likely the word has gotten around to the bookmakers that a fix was in the works. (2005, p. 33)One can just imagine the negative impact the scandal had on the game and it seems that the players had learned their lessons well. But less than sixty years later, news of impropriety once again stunned the Major League. Cincinnati Reds player and manager Pete Rose was banished from the game of baseball. There is nothing crueler that could be done to a future hall- of-famer.Pete Rose: All Time Hit KingWriters find no difficulty in praising Pete Rose’s talents. Fred McMane heaped this compliment on Rose:As a baseball player, Rose is the perfect example of the individual who made the very most of what he had. Although limited in natural skills, he worked hard to become one of the sport’s all-time great players. In addition to most hits, he owns the career records for games played (3,562), most at-bats (14,053), most singles (3,315), most seasons of 200 or more hits (10) [†¦] Not only was Rose baseball’s all-time hit leader, but he was a catalyst on three world-championship teams. (2000, p.4)Addicted to GamblingThe same tenacity he displayed every time he is in a baseball diamond, is the same passion he exhibited in his gambling. Apparently the habit got so serious that in the twilight of his career, after becoming the all-time hit king by breaking Ty Cobb’s record, Pete Rose got the surprise of a life time. On February 23, 1989 the commissioner’s office officially began the investigation into the gambling problem of Pete Rose. They hired the services of John Dowd, a tough, hard-nosed attorney who spent ten years in the U.S. Justice Department running after mob-related cases (Ginsburg, 1995, p. 243).Integrity of the GameMcmane wrote that Giamatti – head of Major League Baseball at that time – held a news conference a day after banning Pete Rose, where he said:The matter of Mr. Rose is now closed. It will be debated and discussed. Let no one think it did not hurt baseball. The hurt will pass, however, as the great glory of the game asserts itself and a resilient institution goes forward. Let it also be clear that no individual is superior to the game. (2000, p.9)It was not only that Rose participated in illegal gambling; Rose exposed the beautiful game into the dark world of game fixing. Ginsburg explains the severity of his offense that according to baseball rules the penalty for betting on games involving your own club was permanent expulsion from baseballStaudohar was able to explain it succinctly by saying:Virtually all productive enterprises depend on consumer markets for their viabilit y and economic growth. Industries tat produce goods and those that render services to the public tend to rise and fall in accordance with the consumer image of the attractiveness and reliability of their performance. Public image is especially crucial to the success of sports, because the consumption of this service is based on a derived joy from entertainment rather than biological need to sustain life. (190)In other words, the moment the fans suspect that there is something wrong with the system and that they are not getting what they are supposed to be getting – which is the pleasure of witnessing two teams competing at the highest levels, then they will stop coming to the stadiums and arenas. No one would spend his hard earned money for a farce such as a fix.Adam Epstein has this to say as to why league officials must uphold the rules against athletes betting on their own team, At the heart of sports gambling is the concern that games fixed by players, coaches, trainers, or others defeat the ideal that the outcome of a sporting event is left to chance and skill. A disturbing issue [] is the role that the athletes, coaches, and even sports officials themselves might play in altering the outcome of a game in order to profit from betting on a loss, or point spread (96).ConclusionSports gambling is like a two-headed monster that could not be easily slain. It is part entertainment and part money-making scheme. On the basis of these two factors alone, the fight against gambling is an uphill climb to say the least. Others may argue that betting on games is part of the whole spectator experience. There are even those who are saying that it is harmless and just done for fun.But the discussion made in the preceding pages points to another end result. Sports gambling is not as innocent as it may seem. It can lead the way for game fixing, other forms of cheating, addiction to gambling, and will result in a host of problems relating to money. There are two high profile cases that were reviewed, Pete Rose lifetime ban from Major League Baseball and Tim Donaghy’s expulsion from the NBA serves as a warning to the destructive effects of sports gambling.There is not enough space to show that this problem does not only happen to professional athletes and in the professional leagues. Student-athletes can be drawn into the vicious world of illegal gambling and their well-being can be seriously affected by compulsive gambling. Furthermore, sports gambling is not only limited to the misuse of funds. When game fixing or manipulation of games becomes the byproduct of athletes betting for or against their teams, the sport will be seriously affected.This disturbing issue will surely drive the fans away and if no action is taken every time an athlete or sports official tries to play around with the rules to serve his own selfish motives then it will surely bankrupt the Major League or the NBA. Pete Rose represented the world of the athlete and spo rts official while serving as a player and manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Therefore he must be made an example. It was too bad that he was a future hall-of-famer; it was too bad that he was the all-time hit king, but what was worse was that he gambled it all away by deliberately breaking the rules that was placed there to ensure the longevity of the game he loves so much.The same is true with Tim Donaghy. His actions placed the entire league in peril. An organization like the NBA was established after decades of painstaking work from the athletes and officials. With an act of impropriety Donaghy succeeded in tarnishing a professional basketball league and a game loved by millions all over the world.