We’re in dangerous territory here.
I’m talking about the gambling problem the NFL faces.
They’re definitely trying to quell the problem that directly affects the integrity of the game. Without it, there is no confidence by the millions of fans who attend and watch the sport. If there are questions as to what we’re seeing is on the up-and-up, the NFL can ultimately be considered on the level of pro wrestling.
At the same time the league is working to crack down on its worst possible dilemma, it has encouraged betting on everything related to the game, collected millions from gambling sponsorships.
It goes well beyond betting on who wins or loses.
All game bets are about point spreads.
Who is favored? Who is the underdog? Will a team cover the point spread?
Or not?
It is about whether the total points scored in a game is over or under the established spread.
It is about individual performance. The number of yards gained by a passer, runner or receiver.
It goes on and on.
Last week, the NFL suspended four players for violating the league’s gambling policy. Two members of the Indianapolis Colts, and one free agent were suspended indefinitely through at least the conclusion of the 2023 season for betting on NFL games in 2022.
Another player, a member of the Tennessee Titans was suspended for the team’s first six regular season games for bettering on non-NFL sports at the club facility.
The Colts then released the two players who were involved.
There have been suspensions prior to the latest round, including a player who bet on his own team while recovering from an injury.
It’s all a bad look for the sport.
There have been alarming signs since that have deepened the seriousness of the issue.
First, Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones stated, “I understand rules are rules, but I can risk my life so that my team wins but I can’t risk $1,000 on my team winning.”
Scary indeed.
But here’s where it gets worse.
A player may bet that his team wins a game, but what about the point spread?
He may bet they will win, but not cover the spread, and if they do, he loses.
What does that do to his head while he’s playing, aware of those things?
If he bets that his team will cover, and needs to score another touchdown to do so late in the game, what might he do to affect the final score?
The league’s proof of suspension of those players involved surrounded the use of their cell phones.
Players are now likely to place their bets using a friend’s phone.
They now won’t be caught. And others will now be privy to what a player feels going into a game.
How about this?
Players know their team’s game plan by the middle of the week. They have information that outsiders would love to have.
The player knows, for example what the first 15 offensive plays will be, since teams usually script those in advance.
Perhaps a star receiver, or running back will be used as a decoy in a particular game.
Wouldn’t fans want to know that information?
And if a player asks a friend to use his phone to place bets, well, you see the point.
I felt once the league embraced gambling for all of the possible bets out there in a given game, raking in millions, they were stepping into dangerous territory.
They have done just that.
And it may be getting worse.
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Let’s shift gears from darkness to the bright side.
Rickie Fowler should be a lesson to all of us.
Fowler finally won a golf tournament last weekend.
He birdied the first hole in a playoff to capture the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
No, it wasn’t a major championship, nor was it one of the more prominent, traditional stops on the PGA tour. Judging by the final tally showing Fowler at 24-under par, it wasn’t perhaps the most challenging of all courses.
It doesn’t matter.
It was a victory for the extremely popular Fowler who hadn’t won in four years, four months and 29 days.
He reached a low of No. 185 in the world last September, made some tough decisions to replace his caddie of 13 years, and change his instructor.
The 34-year old Californian admitted he had doubts he would return to the lofty heights of being the ranked fourth in the world in 2016.
He had won five times on the tour, still lacking a major win, it played on a total of seven Ryder and President cups.
He had been so far down, golf followers would shake their heads and feel bad for a guy everyone seemed to adore, but couldn’t get his game back.
Then, it turned around.
Seven top 10 finishes this year and a terrific showing at the US Open where he shot a record 62 in the first round and held the 54-hole lead.
Fowler eventually tied for fifth, but there were signs he had come back from the depths.
In golf, you’re only as good as your next performance, and to see him continue on the rising arc was truly heartening.
But for Fowler, apparently, it was more than golf.
It was his ability to maintain a steady perspective on what he knew really counts in life.
His family. His wife Allison and his daughter Maya, who wasn’t around the last time he won.
Rickie Fowler’s temperament, avoiding the highs and the lows, and being consistent, despite the travails of his profession, I feel, set him up for the return of his golf game.
There were no exclamations of relief, no joyous antics, no over-the-top celebration when he sank the winning putt in Michigan.
Just a look to the heavens.
Then a hug from his caddie.
Rickie’s reaction? “Yeah, winning’s great, but there’s a lot more to life than that.”
The man is real.
He knows it’s difficult to maintain the intense concentration it takes to contend in this sport all the time.
He knows winning doesn’t last.
And now he knows losing doesn’t last either.
Maintaining an even temperament. Realizing what really counts in life.
Staying steady. Not losing control.
Maybe that’s the recipe for being able to bounce back.
Perhaps that look to the sky said more than we know.
It worked for the ever-popular Rickie Fowler.
Perhaps it can work for all of us.