Leave it to the Zenmaster to be the only one who seemingly has some sense in the NBA amidst the Gilbert Arenas gambling fiasco.
While others are either banning gambling on their teams or remaining silent on the subject, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said over the weekend that he won’t support a ban on his team simply for PR reasons.
“What are these players going to do when they get back to their hotels, when they are in their own space, even their houses?” Jackson said to reporters on Friday. “They’re going to go their rooms and gamble. I think maybe on the planes would be a better spot for that because it could be monitored. It hasn’t been a problem.
“We have guys that play, four or five guys that play. They seem to have a wonderful time. It seems to be a great release for them.”
What a concept: treat players like adults.
I realize that can be difficult at times, what with some of them carrying guns and Tweeting comments you’d expect from a grade schooler and all, but the fact remains these guys are grownups. They are going to wager if they feel like wagering. It’s a way to pass the time as well as compete.
Every team that has to board a bus or a plane to go anywhere gambles. I don’t care if it’s a high school baseball team or the Washington Wizards. The only things that vary are the stakes and the games.
And there’s always going to be some kind of gambling controversy brewing on any team that puts money and pride on the line. The difference is that most guys aren’t such morons about it they let it ruin the whole team.
For decades, gambling existed on pro sports teams without a public gun-wielding incident and now one thing happens and suddenly there’s a heap of pressure to for NBA teams to ban gambling. It’s a knee-jerk, stupid reaction that is going to lead to more harm than good if more teams buy into it.
The woeful Nets have already done it. But that just makes them look more pathetic than their three wins this season.
Like prohibition with booze, gambling or any other vice, people are going to do it if they really want to. And if I’m an NBA owner or coach, I definitely want my team gambling.
What would you rather have your players doing at night on the road: playing cards and video games for cash or hitting the clubs? Because that’s where they’re headed if they can’t wager on whatever they’re doing.
Gambling isn’t an issue with most teams because they police it themselves. Teams with good leadership and chemistry make sure any disputes are taken care of. They’ll make sure a guy who owes money pays up and they don’t let the betting get out of control.
The issue with the Wizards is a chemistry issue, not a gambling issue. Publicly banning gambling on your team won’t solve any problems, it just makes your players look like a joke.