Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups arrested in betting probe





Both of these guys are risking tens of millions at the chance of winning tens of thousands.

Make it make sense!

Howl Wolves!!
 


As Darren the Greek said, the leagues have made this bed…
As I was watching the game on Fan Duel Sports last night, where every other commercial was gambling related, I was thinking about how sick this whole situation is. I used to think the refs were the weak link in the operation but gambling is an addiction like any other addiction. Professional athletes are insanely competitive, driven to win and think their brains match their athletic abilities. Playing around with outcomes (and not getting caught) can be just as rewarding as actually winning, even for a $50M player.
I think the problem is far more pervasive than an outlier player or coach here or there.
 

As Darren the Greek said, the leagues have made this bed…
As I was watching the game on Fan Duel Sports last night, where every other commercial was gambling related, I was thinking about how sick this whole situation is. I used to think the refs were the weak link in the operation but gambling is an addiction like any other addiction. Professional athletes are insanely competitive, driven to win and think their brains match their athletic abilities. Playing around with outcomes (and not getting caught) can be just as rewarding as actually winning, even for a $50M player.
I think the problem is far more pervasive than an outlier player or coach here or there.
The few times I've watched pregame shows for football about a third of it is devoted to analyzing player prop bets.
 


Ban player prop bets. Gambling on who wins is not the issue.
 



Both of these guys are risking tens of millions at the chance of winning tens of thousands.

Make it make sense!

Howl Wolves!!
It's an addiction.

A couple of years ago I read a profile of Ant in online Esquire (I think). He said that he doesn't drink alcohol or smoke weed but he likes to gamble for "relaxation." IIRC, he said he doesn't usually bet more than $10K or $20K at a time. I think gambling is in the oxygen of a lot of professional athletes and even the wealthiest can run into trouble. (Barkley and Mickleson are reputed to have lost tens of millions. There are many rumors that MJ didn't retire from the NBA to try baseball. He was quietly suspended by Stern for gambling.)

I hope no MN professional (or college) athletes get caught up in this.
 



I get the Rozier portion of this. The Billups side of the story and why he'd ever choose to become involved in something like that is what confounds me.
 




There was a Gophers bb player in the mid 2000's that I was convinced (and still am) was point shaving in a particular game. It looked like he was purposefully turning the ball over, missing shots on purpose, and playing charity-game level defense, similar to the Terry Rozier clip that is making the rounds on the internet currently. I'm not going to name names for obvious reasons but it was blatant.

Massive betting on prop bets raises red flags. Only an idiot would do that. Point shaving can be more conspicuous, albeit harder to do. If we get rid of prop bets the problem won't entirely go away. It'll just shift to point shaving once again.
 

There was a Gophers bb player in the mid 2000's that I was convinced (and still am) was point shaving in a particular game. It looked like he was purposefully turning the ball over, missing shots on purpose, and playing charity-game level defense, similar to the Terry Rozier clip that is making the rounds on the internet currently. I'm not going to name names for obvious reasons but it was blatant.

Massive betting on prop bets raises red flags. Only an idiot would do that. Point shaving can be more conspicuous, albeit harder to do. If we get rid of prop bets the problem won't entirely go away. It'll just shift to point shaving once again.
It's worst in baseball. Gambling on whether the 1st pitch a reliever throws will be a ball is an easy thing to rig. Hence what happened to the Guardian's closer.
 




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