Say it ain't so, Sho'
We're going to need a lot of counseling for the risky relationship between Sports and Gambling
It was just a matter of time before the sports world’s new cozy relationship with gambling reached a crossroads. That time is now.
Ippei Mizuhara, the now-former translator and confidant for the biggest star in baseball, Shohei Ohtani, was abruptly fired by the Dodgers as they opened the season across the globe in South Korea. Lawyers for Ohtani said the player was “a victim of a massive theft” when asked why $4.5 million in wire transfers were sent from Ohtani’s bank account to a bookmaking operation.
The news occurs on the eve of America’s favorite gambling event, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which has become a cultural phenomenon because of brackets, Knockout Pools, points spreads, over-unders, parlays, and all the other means of gambling.
For perspective, last year’s NCAA Tournament led to triple the wagers ($459 million) than the 2023 Super Bowl ($153.2 million). And those numbers are just from Las Vegas. They don’t even count all the money from office pools.
Earlier this week, Cleveland Cavaliers coach Bernie Bickerstaff sounded the alarms on the threats he’s heard from gamblers.
"They got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff," Bickerstaff said before a recent Cavs game against the Miami Heat. "So it is a dangerous game and a fine line that we're walking for sure."
Bickerstaff gave another example that players and coaches hear in real time.
"There's no doubt about it that it's crossed the line," Bickerstaff said. "The amount of times where I'm standing up there and we may have a 10-point lead and the spread is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys in so that we can cover the spread, it's ridiculous.
"But again, I understand the business side of it and the nature of the business of it. But I mean, it is something that I believe has gone too far."
Over the last few decades, the relationship between sports leagues and gambling went from a wink-wink relationship that both enjoyed in secret, to a casual friendship with benefits, to some public hand-holding on dates, and now the two sides are in a marriage that needs serious counseling.
Let’s be honest. They’re not getting a divorce. The sports world isn’t turning its back on gambling and nothing in the current news cycle is going to change that. Too much money is being made. Too much money has already been counted in future budgets.
At this point, sports leagues, conferences, and teams are pretty much just deciding how much of their gambling profits they’re going to use to clean up the mess they’ve created by embracing gambling so openly.
It’s a spreadsheet now. Gambling brings in X amount of money. They’ll spend Y amount of money on responsible gambling messaging and warnings. They’ll spend Z amount of money on investigations into players, coaches and their numerous “inner circles” who potentially use information to lay bets or shave points.
The NCAA has already partnered with STN Digital (a company created by San Diego State alum David Brickley, by the way) for anti-gambling messages that will appear on videoboards at all March Madness games. One was a graphic illustrating the 30% of Division I athletes report betting related threats and harassment.
Thirty percent!
A sports gambling scandal is nothing new.
You can’t tell the story of sports without telling the story of how gamblers have influenced, or tried to influence, the outcome of games. We know the 1919 World Series was compromised by gamblers. Compelling research indicates other World Series in that era were also probably influenced.
We know about a point-shaving scandal at Arizona State with star guard Stevin “Hedake” Smith in 1993-94, a scandal with NBA referee Tim Donaghy in 2008, that Pete Rose bet on the Cincinnati Reds when he was their manager in 1987, that NFL players Alex Karras and Paul Hornung were suspended for the 1963 season for betting on NFL games. Those are just a small sampling.
What’s new is the advertising for gambling that permeates watching sports on TV, listening to gambling discussions on pregame and postgame shows, the ability to wager on a game from the game, and how all this is embraced by leagues and their media partners.
Or as TwitXer user @JeffIsrael25 put it:
The theory behind legalizing sports gambling is not all that different than the theory about legalizing marijuana: we can’t stop people from doing it anyway; we might as well tax it and make money off it; and, maybe, just maybe, we can create more safeguards if it’s all controlled.
So, yes, getting your weed from a licensed brick-and-mortar is safer than from the random dude who lurks underneath that shoe hanging from the power lines who may have cut it with oregano or fentanyl.
And, yes, steering fans to place bets from a licensed sports book is a safer way to know if an irregular amount of money was not-so-randomly placed on an otherwise nondescript game to warrant an inquiry.
The perfect example came last May in college baseball. Yes, college baseball.
Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon scratched his scheduled starting pitcher from a game against LSU due to an injury, then surveillance cameras indicated that he communicated that news to a individual he knew who tried to place a $100,000 bet from a wagering site that just happens to be where the Cincinnati Reds play baseball.
The sports book only allowed a $15,000 bet. The large amount immediately drew suspicion. Bohannon was placed on administrative leave and later fired for cause.
The better was an Indiana businessman and youth baseball coach named Bert Eugene Neff. Federal authorities said in the plea agreement that Neff told four other gamblers about the insider information. Neff pleaded guilty to obstruction charges.
Going forward, we’re likely to continue hearing more stories like this, various people directly attached to sports passing along insider information to their friends or gambling associates.
That the Alabama coach was caught so quickly is an indication the system is working.
A relevant follow-up question is do we really need a system that allows someone to bet on a college baseball game from a Major League Baseball stadium?
We don’t know what Ohtani knew about his interpreter’s gambling problem. So far, it mostly seems like Ohtani is an innocent victim of Mizutani. At minimum, it’s a purple flag that his camp has already changed their story. But also, how the heck do you not know that someone has wired $4.5 million out of your bank account?
If you want a thorough analysis of the possibilities, I recommend Craig Calcaterra’s piece.
As shocking as the Ohtani story is, we can’t be surprised by any gambling scandal anymore.
The temptation is there. The easy access is there.
Even if athletes and coaches have no desire to engage in illegal wagering, or conspire with known associates, they’re going to get an earful from gamblers at games, on social media, and even on their cell phones.
I hope the sports leagues are increasing the budget for all the therapy that will be needed and all the investigators that will stay busy.