Basketball Betting Scandals: Dan Riley on Gambling’s Threat to the Game

🎧 Basketball Betting Scandals: A Threat to the Game’s Integrity

Basketball betting scandals are once again under scrutiny as Dan Riley reflects on how gambling continues to endanger the integrity of the sport. From historic cases at Arizona State, Tulane, and the infamous CCNY scandal to modern-day concerns, basketball has long faced the corrosive influence of betting. Unlike other sports, basketball’s fast pace and scoring structure make it especially vulnerable to point-shaving and insider manipulation. Players at all levels face serious risks, while fans are left questioning what they’re really watching.

Dan Riley explores why consistent education, accountability, and stronger safeguards are essential if basketball is to protect its future and preserve trust in the game.

💡 This reflection reminds us that protecting the integrity of basketball isn’t outdated — it’s critical.
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Dan Riley for Sports Talk Compassionate World Internet Radio.
According to ESPN, Mike Rozier has pled innocent to charges
he helped gamblers who placed wagers on his performances in games.
Prosecutors say Rosier faked an injury playing for the Charlotte
Hornets in a game in twenty twenty three so that

(00:24):
the betters who waged an under on a prop bet
regarding how many points he would score would win. That
basketball game was against the New Orleans Pelicans. In case
you were wondering, Basketball for the record has a long

(00:44):
embarrassing history with betting scandals. In the nineteen fifties, players
for City College in New York shaved points in college
games to help betters. They were found guilty and sent
to prison. Another involved a men's team at Tulane University

(01:08):
in the nineteen eighties, where guys on that team apparently
shaved points in exchange for cocaine. I recently covered Arizona
State in the early nineteen nineties, where sun Devil Stephen
Smith shaved points in multiple games after getting into debt
with the campus bookie. Finally, in the late odds, NBA

(01:36):
referee Tim doneghe pled guilty to betting on games he officiated,
and he continues to pretend his tell All book as
the support of the FBI, which for the record, does
not fact check tell as from x cons like Tim
Donaghe I looked into it. In case you're wondering, it

(01:58):
is a federal offs to offer any gift or benefit
to any athlete, coach, or referee to get them to
fix a ballgame, and that federal law covers both pro
and amateur sporting events. Some probably wonder if we're in
a new age where that's a threat, especially in basketball.

(02:23):
The hard truth is Basketball's fast pace would have a
gambler salivating in all the easy money a fix could generate,
and apparently how easy it is in comparison to other sports.
That should have the Commissioner's Office of the NBA and
the WNBA taking any anxiety meds like nobody's business right now.

(02:48):
They know basketball's long history with betting scandals, and they're
wondering if they made a mistake, considering the NBA has
apparently partnered with betting app The answer is yes, they have.
That's an obvious mistake. The NBA, WNBA and nc double

(03:10):
A only need a relationship with these apps to keep
track of the betting lines. That's it. Tim Donaghe and
John tay Porter are the reasons why although it's most
likely a ref not a player, would get caught up
in the next betting scandal in the NBA. For that matter,

(03:39):
the FBI should give players in the NBA and NC
Double A and WNBA a tip line to tell the
FEDS if they're approached by someone with the betting background
for any reason. Gambling is the one thing that could

(03:59):
do destroy basketball in the United States. The NBA, WNBA,
and NC DOUBLEA need to do everything imaginable to keep
that from happening, because if Heaven forbid, Lebron James or

(04:23):
Caitlin Clark make a small mistake and decide to bet
when it's against their contracts, it could get them into
trouble with the FEDS with say some mob affiliated bookie

(04:44):
who could use it to extort them. And everyone in
basketball needs to teach players, officials, and coaches the dangers
of gambling because with the scandal the NBA is dealing
with right now regarding Chauncey Billups, people in basketball at

(05:07):
all levels need all the education in the world regarding
the dangers of gambling because the stakes are too high.
This is Dan Riley for Sports Talk. Thank you so
much for tuning in and so long