Last Thursday, the story broke about professional basketball players and coaches being arrested for engaging in illegal gambling activities. Surprisingly, those who have amassed so much wealth from the sport would be willing to risk everything and potentially serve time in prison for a fraction of what they make in their careers.
Sports commentators familiar with professional athletes have given reasons why they would want to be involved in an illegal gambling scheme. One motive they claim is that an athlete who reaches professionalism has an over-the-top competitiveness. Gambling somehow fills the need to compete and win. The answer might apply to gambling, but not to cheating; it is the opposite of competition. Others will have opined that the athletes and coaches embroiled in criminal gambling need a fix like other types of addicts. There is a problem with this reason, too. Again, they were not gambling but cheating.
Without manipulation, gambling is an endeavor of pure chance and timing. The parties involved have no advantage over the other participants. When a bet is placed, one will win and one will lose. That’s supposedly the nature of a wager. It all changes when greed is a factor, and cheating is the only way to increase odds over 50%.
Greed is a powerful human emotion. It is the opposite of charity and one of the seven deadly sins. Greed can be so harmful to the human heart that Jesus warns his followers that it can be as dangerous as adultery or murder. St. Thomas Aquinas defines greed as an immoderate love of possessing. The one who cheats in gambling believes he deserves the winnings and takes steps to get them.
We may be coming closer to why these high-paid NBA athletes and coaches agreed to participate in illegal activities (of course, all are presumed innocent until convicted). Terry Rozier is a good example. The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges that in 2023, Terry Rozier, a player for the Charlotte Hornets, tipped off his accomplices that he would leave the game early because of a purported injury. Bets were illegally placed with the insider knowledge, and the group won $200,000. After the game, the DOJ contends Rozier and his accomplices counted the ill-gained proceeds in his house afterward.
Although suspended, Terry Rozier is in the final year of a four-year deal worth $96.3 million. His net worth from his NBA career is estimated at $160 million. From anyone’s standards, that is a lot of money. Rozier isn’t the only one; 34 people were also arrested. You can’t help but wonder why someone so wealthy would jeopardize it for a measly (in comparison) $200,000?
There is another reason someone might do it. When thousands of fans adore you throughout your career, you can’t help but think you are something special, over and above the rest. Standard rules do not apply. These athletes are unique. Out of all the basketball players, these men made it to the NBA, and their salaries prove it.
With all the money and fame, the egos of these players and coaches are out of whack. They may have convinced themselves they are untouchable and deserve all they want without caring how it happens. The indictments have given those players and coaches involved a black eye. The NBA isn’t doing so well either. If what the government claims is true, no matter how much money a person has, it doesn’t insulate them from the temptation of doing wrong.