Outside factors and pressures have always affected professional sports, and some amateur editions as well I suspect, but in past years those effects largely stayed where they belonged, under cover and out of the press. How times have changed.
Professional gambling has always been involved in professional sports but today the size of the potential winnings have ballooned to such an extent that a gambling ring might be convinced to pay a player or coach significant sums to tilt the outcome of a game one way or another. Catching and proving such a plan is difficult to say the least.
A rather new trend that has surfaced particularly in the NBA is the act of “tanking,” or performing or failing to perform an act that permits the opposition to score points that otherwise might not be available. Included in this category could be faked injuries and taking “personal” time whether necessary or contrived. These acts are fairly easy to spot but very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Players are so driven by extraordinary salaries that much of what they do off the field or court is fueled by the desire to build that bank account so their financial futures are not in question, unless they simply throw the treasure away.
Of equal impact with the above situations are fouls and other calls by referees that are questionable at best and suspicious in impact. Most humans have their limits in refusing to accept valuable consideration for delivering a result that will generate billions of dollars in winnings. This certainly gives proof to the old adage that the love of money is often the downfall of many as well as the root of much evil.
Of lesser impact on contests is the fairly new art of players fighting on the court or field and, in some cases, fans doing the same thing in the stands, often spilling over to include players as well. This is damaging the image of the sports both in attendance figures and the size of the viewing audience. Maybe we should leave that part of sports up to the “sport” of hockey.
One final change in the sports world that deserves mention is the increasing acceptance by popular players of interviews either immediately after the conclusion of games or later on sports shows. In earlier times only coaches or captains were permitted to engage the press. Today, however, it is not unusual for a player to contradict his or her coach on the reasons for the negative result in a game or with the call of a particular play.
These new concerns about professional sports must be addressed quickly before we all have to turn to AI to determine the reason for our team’s inexplicable record.