Know what to keep

“Every gambler knows / That the secret to surviving / Is knowing what to throw away / And knowing what to keep.”

Those lyrics from Kenny Rogers’ iconic song “The Gambler” came to mind when I pondered the betting scandals that have recently rocked Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and college sports: If the federal indictments of the athletes and coaches involved are any indication—and if they are, in fact, guilty—then those individuals clearly didn’t know what to keep.

In baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz stand accused of conspiring with bettors in a pitch-rigging scheme. Both players are on non-disciplinary paid leave since July while MLB investigates the matter, and they both face criminal charges for allegedly accepting money from bettors to control the velocity, locations, and types of pitches at specific times in games.

According to the Department of Justice’s indictment, the pitches involved were typically the first in a given inning. The indictment alleges that bettors won north of $450,000 on “prop bets”—wagers involving individual player statistics—in which they correctly predicted where Clase and Ortiz would throw those initial pitches, the speeds of those pitches, and whether the pitches ended up in relation to the strike zone. Imagine bettors consistently predicting “9th inning, 94+ mph fastball, in the dirt, ball one” with startling accuracy and raking in loads of cash as a result, and you get why the suspicions of both MLB and the DOJ might be aroused.

And what did Clase and Ortiz receive in return? Apparently, not much. Clase reportedly made as little as $6,000 for each pitch thrown as part of the alleged scheme. According to ESPN, Clase threw 746 pitches in 47 1/3 innings before being placed on leave: If only the first pitch of each inning counted toward the scheme, Clase would have made $282,000. To place that in perspective, the two-time American League Reliever of the Year was set to make $10 million in each of the next two seasons, as Sports Illustrated reported.

Ortiz, meanwhile, allegedly allowed Clase—his countryman from the Dominican Republic—to rope him into the scheme for a mere $5,000 per pitch.

More importantly, both pitchers are facing 65 years in prison if convicted. Since they’re both in their mid- to-late 20s, that means Clase and Ortiz may have all but thrown their lives away. And even if a jury finds them not guilty, their baseball careers are likely done. Consorting with crooked gamblers—if not gambling itself—has long been considered baseball’s cardinal sin.

Over in the NBA, meanwhile, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier have been arrested for their alleged roles in illegal gambling schemes. Arrested by FBI agents the morning after the Blazers’ season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in late October, Billups at least has not been charged with fixing NBA games. He supposedly played a role in luring easy marks into illegal poker games.

The same cannot be said for Rozier. WORLD reported back in March that in 2023, while with the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier allegedly texted bettors about faking injuries to leave games. If the facts alleged in the DOJ’s indictment of Rozier are accurate, the player’s misdeeds may go deeper than that. Bettors, based on inside information Rozier stands accused of providing to them, took significant amounts of money out of sportsbooks in multiple states after wagering on a series of games late in the 2022-23 season.

In college sports, two former wrestlers for Rutgers University in New Jersey have been arrested as part of a federal probe into Mafia-run betting that has put many coaches and athletes under scrutiny. And earlier this year, Fresno State’s men’s basketball program dismissed one player and suspended another for allegedly betting on Bulldogs games.

Many a youngster dreams of competing or coaching in college or professional sports one day. Few actually realize that dream. So why throw it all away just to make some extra cash and possibly risk imprisonment and a lifetime ban from their sport in the process?

The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have … pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The athletes and coaches whose reputations are now tarnished simply by being embroiled in gambling scandals seem to have pierced themselves pretty deeply.

It doesn’t help that MLB and the NBA have sponsorship deals with betting websites like FanDuel and DraftKings. Casinos also cut deals with individual teams to advertise in their arenas and on radio and TV broadcasts. MLB even has sportsbooks in several of its stadiums.

All of that clearly sends the wrong message: If the entities that regulate what they do on courts and diamonds can profit from their efforts and from deals with gambling operations, I can see how players and coaches would be easily tempted to do likewise.

Still, more athletes and coaches should resist that temptation. They need to know what to keep—not just their livelihoods, the money they can earn long-term, or even their freedom from imprisonment.

I’m talking about something priceless. Their honor.