Are Sports Rigged
Author Says Evidence Proves Pro Sports Rigged
It’s probably unwise to make broad generalizations about eSports, but in this case I think it’s safe to say the majority of eSports are not rigged, just like it’s safe to say the majority of traditional competitive sports are not rigged. It’s well known that one of the largest sports networks, ESPN, doesn’t engage in investigative journalism because the network would potentially lose millions in revenue if spectators sensed that the Super Bowl and World Series were rigged.
By Victor Thorn
The American landscape is littered with crooked politicians, corrupt judges, corporate conmen, sleazy televangelists and stolen elections. Could the manipulation of professional sports, including the National Football League (NFL), also be added to this list? Oh, say it ain’t so, Joe.
During a July 21 interview, Brian Tuohy, author of The Fix Is In, told this writer: “In a May 20 NFL court case concerning the New England Patriots ‘Spygate’ scandal, Sr. U.S. Circuit Judge Robert E. Cowen ruled that, at best, tickets to a football game don’t come with the promise that the contest will be a fair one. Fans only have the legal right to see a game, and nothing more. The league doesn’t have to follow any certain rules or laws regarding the outcome of these games.”
This decision arose because the NFL is a self-contained entity that exists without any meaningful oversight from any outside body looking over its shoulder.
The NFL is a not-for-profit corporation, a 501(c)6 business “league,” that pulls in nearly $8 billion annually and pays its head, who is called a “commissioner,” $11 million a year.
Since television networks and advertisers funnel millions of dollars into sporting events, each league is acutely aware that they have to keep their “show business product” filled with intrigue to boost ratings.
Tuohy concedes that the vast majority of games are legitimate, but if a good storyline develops, similar to a soap opera or professional wrestling, the league will help this drama along.
One way to shave points or alter an outcome is via the referees. Tuohy notes that since these officials are employees of each league, it’s not considered bribery, or even an illegality, if a referee does or doesn’t make a certain call. They’re nothing more than paid company men following a script.
To prevent whistleblowers, the NFL instituted a profit-sharing program where every team in the league, even the worst ones, benefits as more money is generated.
They’re all in the same boat, and no one wants to poison the message by saying specific games are fixed. In addition, Tuohy points out that many NFL team owners have organized-crime backgrounds and direct connections to gambling outfits.
With huge amounts of money at stake, the situation becomes political. Similar to congressmen who’ve been compromised, players with gambling problems, drug arrests or other legal entanglements become much more vulnerable to the pressures of throwing a game. If a quarterback is faced with prison time, losing millions in endorsements or being banished by the league for illegal steroid use, tossing a few deliberate interceptions is a small price to pay.
To bolster his argument, Tuohy provides examples. After Super Bowl III where Joe Namath became a superstar, Colts lineman Bubba Smith snapped, “The game was set up for the Jets to win.”
Tuohy cites other sports venues, too Racecar driver Tony Stewart admitted in 2007: “It’s like playing God. [NASCAR] can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. . . . I don’t know that they’ve run a fair race all year.”
Then there’s NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who provided inside information to gamblers, allowing them an 80 percent accuracy rate in predicting the outcome of games. Like dishonest Wall Street investment bankers, Donaghy naturally received financial compensation for his secretive revelations.
One other parallel to the corporate-political world exists. Akin to a docile White House press corps, Tuohy asserts that the sports media is afraid to expose offending players or coaches because the reporters would be blackballed by the league. It’s well known that one of the largest sports networks, ESPN, doesn’t engage in investigative journalism because the network would potentially lose millions in revenue if spectators sensed that the Super Bowl and World Series were rigged.
The longer this writer spoke with Tuohy, the clearer it became that the realm of political conspiracies and fixed sporting events were closely related. Whereas Fox News or NBC won’t reveal the truth about 9-11, Tuohy is thwarted by corrupt owners and monolithic sports departments, who all circle their wagons to keep their secrets secret.
And don’t forget Council on Foreign Relations man George Mitchell appearing out of nowhere more than once in recent years to investigate steroid use in professional sports. That is a rather curious shifting of gears from the CFR—the premier private outlet for directing U.S. foreign policy and supplying key personnel for government policy-making jobs—to professional sports.
When asked if he faced any repercussions regarding his book, Tuohy explained: “I think I’m being censored by the sports media. After interviewing me, ESPN refused to publish any articles about sports conspiracies. Plus, they’ve banned me from their big radio networks and sports talk shows.”
Victor Thorn is a hard-hitting researcher, journalist and the author of many books on 9-11 and the New World Order. These include 9-11 Evil: The Israeli Role in 9-11 and Phantom Flight 93.
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(Issue # 33, August 16, 2010)
The New England Patriots’ miraculous comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI last week was so incredible it was as if a higher power was pulling the strings.
Conspiracy theorists had a field day in the immediate aftermath of what will go down as one of, if not the greatest Super Bowl of all-time. Those in the tin foil hats pointed out that the Falcons hardly attempted to burn the clock late in the game, and that FOX – which broadcast the game – posted a graphic before New England won that read, “New England Patriots – wins Super Bowl with touchdown.” (Likely just poor grammar from a production assistant).
The Super Bowl truthers also claim that James White’s knee was down before he scored the game-winning TD, and the truly nutty believe President Donald Trump and even Russian President Vladimir Putin had their fingerprints on the game. After all, Trump is buddy-buddy with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and both Trump and Kraft have a history with Putin (Putin once stole one of Kraft’s Super Bowl rings, so last week’s win was reimbursement).
As fun as those theories are, football is likely the most difficult game in all of American pro sports to rig.
Metro recently spoke with Joe Gagliano, author of the new book No Grey Areas, about how difficult it would be to rig a pro football game and how easy (or hard) it would be to fix other major sports in the U.S.. Gagliano financed, orchestrated, and was later indicted for his role in one of the most prominent point-shaving scandals in U.S. history in the Arizona State basketball case of the 1990s.
Football
As much as Patriots haters would like it to be the case, Gagliano believes the Super Bowl was on the up and up.
“In football, you’ve got 11 guys on the field,” Gagliano told Metro. “Even if you had a quarterback in your pocket it’d be next to impossible, and you’re just not going to get an NFL quarterback because they’re just so highly compensated. There’s just no way to motivate a quarterback to fix a game because they’re already making so much money.
“You’re not going to get a college quarterback either, because if he throws two or three interceptions in the first quarter of a game – the coach is going to yank him.”
Are Sports Rigged
Even kickers, who are paid significantly less than QBs but have a direct influence on game point totals, would have a tough time “rigging” a contest, according to Gagliano.
“The kicker needs to be in a situation where he’s going to directly impact the line,” Gagliano said. “It’s really difficult to get to that point. He has no control over how well his offense or defense is playing. If I was a kicker and I was on the take, I know I could not control my own destiny.”
Basketball
Gagliano’s cash cow was basketball, but he says it has become increasingly difficult over the years to rig what occurs on the court.
“In the NBA it’s next to impossible today as well,” he said. “A couple referees have tried to do it and even they were hovering around the 70 percent mark in terms of success. It’s so tough to do it. Even a lower paid bench player – that player is going to get yanked if he’s having a bad night.
“When I was doing this thing in 93-94, I had a guy who was leading the NCAA in minutes played. He completely dictated everything that happened on the floor for that team. He had the ball 80 percent of the time when the team was on offense. And I had the other guard on the team too [working for me]. So nothing happened on that team without one of those two guys dictating it.
Nowadays you can’t do that because if you have a superstar freshman on a team, normally these kids are one year and done. They’re playing for NBA scouts. And there’s so much money in front of them that … there’s no reason for them to go to the dark side.”
Hockey
All Sports Are Rigged
Team sports are obviously much more difficult to fix than individual sports (boxing, track and field, tennis) because of the number of parties that need to be involved, but Gagliano does believe that the NHL is susceptible to scandal.
“I think if you get a goalie in the twilight of his career it could be possible,” he said. “These guys don’t make a lot of money relative to the other sports. Even if you make $1 million a year, your career is typically only lasting five or six years in the NHL, and you’re paying taxes, and you’re building up a lifestyle – that money seems to go pretty quickly.
“So, you get a higher profile game on a Saturday or Sunday, and you have the goalie put three to four goals through his wickets in the first period, and you bet the over. You bet over four and a half goals, five goals – and you can probably cash your ticket at that point.
UFC
The most popular sport in the U.S. with the most red flags, according to Gagliano, is Mixed Martial Arts.
Are All Sports Rigged
“It has the potential to be as corrupt as possible,” he said. “You look at that sport as a whole, you look at these kids – not making a lot of money. You look at the lifespan of an athlete in that sport, then you put a betting line on it? These kids are getting their brains pounded in, and there’s not a big payday there at all.
“You look at a guy like Anderson Silva – pound for pound the best fighter in the UFC for years. But he was constantly arguing and was in bitter battles with Dana White and the UFC where he thought he deserved more money and the UFC didn’t want to pay him more money.
Are Professional Sports Rigged
“You look at him – a couple fights ago against Chris Weidman. [Silva] got $2.5 million. That’s a great payday for you or I, but when you’re paying training fees, taxes and traveling fees and then you realize you haven’t got much more time in your career – and you also see all the revenue that the UFC is taking in, you get bitter pretty fast.
“If you’re a kid like Anderson Silva, who grows up in Brazil and has a bunch of friends – you send your buddies to England or to Australia with a duffle bag with a half million bucks. You’re a 10-1 favorite. You get caught with a punch, or you get caught in a choke hold. Your half million bucks turns into $5 million cash off-shore. You’re not even paying taxes on that No. 1, and No. 2, the rematch in the UFC is probably worth more money than the first fight that you had. It’s just too tempting to go to the dark side in that sport.”