[NU Sports] gambling and college athletes (fwd)

[Jim Leonard]

On the surface, I think an athlete wagering $5 - $10 on games he/she isn't
participating in is rather harmless. However, gambling rarely stays in control.


If you start to win on the $5 bets, you think 'heck, this is easy money' and
start making larger bets. Then, a few don't go your way so you double the
amount to try to recover (See the film "Two for the Money" for some excellent
examples). Then, when a student-athlete gets in over his head, he is more
likely to cut a deal with a bookie/low-life to start shaving points to get out
of debt. I think that is why the NCAA has a blanket rule against it. 

This is obviously going on at numerous NCAA schools across numerous sports. I'm
not trying to pick a fight here, but I've heard baseball players' habits are
worse. And, as others have pointed out, the NCAA won't do anything to help
school's prevent it, but they nail a school to the wall when it finds out. 

Jim




		
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