CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – For decades, the thought of legalized sports gambling outside of Las Vegas was not to be spoken of.
Now Major League Baseball, the NHL, NFL and NBA have all embraced it because of the billions in potential revenue they now enjoy.
But there is a dark side of gambling that loomed in the shadows over the years that is becoming mainstream, even with legalization.
Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff is among those in the NBA who have already been impacted in a scary way.
“I personally have had my own instances with some of the sports gamblers where they got my telephone number and were sending me crazy messages about where I live and my kids and all that stuff,” Bickerstaff said. “So it is a dangerous game and a fine line that we're walking for sure. It brings added pressure. It brings a distraction to the game that can be difficult for players, coaches, referees, everybody that's involved in it. And I think that we really have to be careful with how close we let it get to the game and the security of the people who are involved in it, because again, it does carry a weight.
“A lot of times the people who are gambling like this money pays their light bill or pay their rent, and then the emotions that come from that. So I do think we're walking a very fine line and we have to be extremely careful in protecting everybody who's involved.”
Bickerstaff reported the messages to the NBA last year and said although no charges were filed, league officials were able to track down the offending party.
The new reality of pro sports is that games are now about more than just their favorite team winning or losing as fans become obsessed with point spreads and over unders and the risk of competition being compromised by outside forces can not be ignored.
“There's no doubt about it that it's crossed the line,” Bickerstaff said. “The amount of times where I'm standing up there and we may have a 10 point lead and the spread is 11 and people are yelling at me to leave the guys in so that we can cover the spread, it's ridiculous. But again, I understand the business side of it and the nature of the business of it, but I mean, it is something that I believe has gone too far.”