Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Rob Manfred

Casablanca is my all-time favorite movie. The plot, set in North Africa during the early days of World War II, is right up my historical alley. But what makes the movie so great – at least to me – is Humphrey Bogart at his sardonic best, delivering one memorable line (and one sarcastic one-liner) after another.

My personal favorite is the following give-and-take that Bogie has in the opening minutes of the film with local police captain Louis Renault, brilliantly portrayed by Claude Rains.

“What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?” Capt. Renault asks Rick Blaine, the owner of Rick’s Café Americain.

“My health,” Bogart’s character replies with a straight face. “I came to Casablanca for the waters.”

“The waters?” Renault asks incredulously. “What waters? We're in the desert.”

“I was misinformed,” Rick responds dryly and with the slightest of smirks.

Among the other unforgettable lines in the movie are “Play it, Sam”, “Here’s looking at you, kid”, “We’ll always have Paris”, and “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” Then there’s Rick’s direct answer to Major Strasser, when the Nazi officer asks him about his nationality. “I’m a drunkard,” Rick replies matter-of-factly.

But the scene – and the lines – that I want to focus on today involve Capt. Renault, Rick, and an anonymous croupier who works in Rick’s Café. When Renault orders his officers to shut down the café, Rick demands to know on what grounds.

“I'm shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here,” Renault responds with an air of moral superiority.

However, no sooner does Renault give his reason for closing the café but the croupier hands him a large stack of money, saying “Your winnings, sir.”

“Thank you” is all the embarrassed, tongue-tied, and all-too-obviously hypocritical Renault can say.

Well, my friends, that cinematic scenario from 1942 is being replayed in real-time today as we watch the NBA, the NFL, and Major League Baseball grapple with the aftershocks of coaches and players being involved in a rash of illegal gambling scandals. The allegations include “fixing” games and scores by faking injuries, telegraphing pitches, and serving as front men for high stakes (and rigged) poker games.

What makes these cases hard to fathom is that people like Terry Rozier, a guard with the Miami Heat, apparently risked their lucrative salaries and hard-earned reputations for a relative pittance. In Rozier’s case, he was being paid $26.6 million this year, all of which is being held in escrow while the charges against him are being investigated. If he is convicted of a crime, the money goes bye-bye… as does his NBA career and very possibly, his freedom.

Likewise, Portland Trailblazers head coach Chauncey Billups was set to make $9 million this season. Unfortunately for the NBA Hall of Famer, the illegal poker games he was associated with were being run by several different Mafia families and involved X-ray tables, players with contacts lens that could see through cards, and rigged deck-shuffling machines.

Billups, who has a history of sexual assault allegations, is currently on leave from the team while the FBI investigates the matter. Some people just never learn.

Meanwhile, two Cleveland Indian pitchers – Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz – are under investigation for giving gamblers advance knowledge about their pitch selection. Clase, a three-time All-Star who was in the last year of a 5-year/$20 million contract and due for a mammoth raise, had previously been suspended for the entire 2020 season for the illegal use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Clase, age 27, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Meanwhile, Ortiz, age 26, is out on $500,000 bail.

Dumb and dumber, indeed.

Whereas these athletes’ mind-numbing actions are hard to explain, the far more egregious offense is the hypocrisy of the leagues in which they play. For instance, FanDuel and BetMGM are listed as the primary and co-exclusive official betting partners of Major League Baseball. Yes, the same MLB that issued lifetime bans to Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and others for reportedly betting on games in which they played or managed.

Oh, and don’t forget DraftKings, which also has a significant partnership with Major League Baseball.

Hypocrisy, thy name is MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is likewise complicit, having designated FanDuel and DraftKings Sportsbook as the league’s official sports betting partners while also naming six other “authorized gaming operators” including BetMGM, Bet365, Caesar’s Sportsbook, Fanatics Sportsbook, BetRivers, and ESPN Bet.

Money talks, but hypocrisy screams even louder.

Joining the trifecta of traitors to their respective sports is NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, arguably the most unpopular and incompetent commissioner in pro sports history (and that’s saying a lot). Goodell, who gives the impression he would sell the naming rights to his own grandkids for the right price, has negotiated with Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, and FanDuel to be the “Official Sports Betting Partners” of the NFL. Other “Approved Sportsbook Operators” include BetMGM, PointsBet, WynnBet, and FOX Bet.

These days, it is virtually impossible to watch a professional sporting event without being force-fed multiple ads promoting gambling. The options are simply too many to mention. You can bet on the outcome of a game, the total score, individual players’ performances, and a host of other factors... all meant to attract the casual gambler and hook the addicted one.

Just like the dope dealer on the street corner who offers the first hit for free – knowing that once you are hooked, he will have a customer for life (or death) – these pro leagues and their sanctioned bookies offer “start-up” money to bankroll your soon-to-be addiction. Then, they have the audacity to remind you to “bet responsibly” while flashing the contact information for Gamblers Anonymous across the screen.

Kinda makes you want to puke, doesn’t it?

Sadly, if there’s money to be made, the NBA, the NFL, and Major League Baseball will sell their collective souls to cash in… even if it means destroying the very games they are supposed to be preserving and protecting.

Deal me out.