Ethics on the Sidelines: Gambling Scandals, Objectivism, and the Quest for Virtue in Sports, Politics, and Business.
Money and winning have become the ultimate ethic
This past week has been a doozy in the sports world, and certainly other professional leagues can be grateful for the first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournaments (both men and women) providing a serious distraction from gambling scandals within the MLB and NBA.
Sports Scandals
First, Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff talked recently about his own experience with sports betting and “how he believes it has gone too far. ‘There's no doubt about it that it's crossed the line,’ Bickerstaff said. ‘The amount of times 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 we can cover the spread, it's ridiculous.’” This same article also highlighted another incident shared by Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, in which a fan had to be removed by security near the end of the game as the fan was upset about a player not taking an open jump shot near the end of the game which would have presumably helped win the person’s bet.1
But, it gets worse. Just this past week (at the time of this writing), Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani has found himself mixed up in a gambling scandal, as his personal interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, admitted to a serious gambling problem. Initially, the story was that Mizuhara had accrued a gambling debt of some $4.5 million, and had asked Ohtani for a loan, of which he obliged, sending several large wire transfers to help him cover the debt. But more recently, Ohtani’s people have contradicted that account, suggesting Mizuhara had actually stole the money unbeknownst to Ohtani.2 It sure does seem like there’s a lot more going on in this story.
Then just yesterday, news came out that a player for the Toronto Raptors is under investigation for sports gambling improprieties. “At issue are prop bets involving Porter from games on Jan. 26 and March 20, multiple sources told ESPN. An NBA spokesman told ESPN that the league is ‘looking into it.’”3 Jontay Porter, brother of Denver Nuggets’ player Michael Porter Jr., is playing in the league under a two-way contract, making about $415,000 for the season, great money for the average joe, but pennies compared to most NBA players. In short, there are several irregularities around bets placed on Porter’s performance (or lack thereof) that have paid out significantly and been unusual.
In a recent podcast, Bomani Jones and Domonique Foxworth talk about this scandal, discussing many of these same issues, and making essentially an ethical observation themselves; that professional sports leagues have chosen to value profits over the integrity of the game.4
The ultimate irony of all this is that these stories are of course being covered by ESPN, the global sports media entertainment behemoth, which has recently launched its own gambling company ESPN BET, meaning that as some have pointed out on social media, ESPN is on the one hand, covering these stories of gambling abuses through their regular television programming, while also hocking their own gambling platform, ESPN BET. Even my own 6 year-old-son can see the massive conflict of interest and blatant hypocrisy.
Billion with a B
While I’m not against gambling per se (I’ve made a trip to the casinos up in the Colorado mountains), I also recognize the addictive nature of gambling and the many lives wrecked by gambling addiction and debt. According to The National Council on Problem Gambling, about 2.5 million adults in the U.S. meet the criteria of having a severe gambling problem. Another 5 million to 8 million people are considered to have mild or moderate gambling problems.5 But beyond the individual implications of legalized gambling and easier access, professional sports leagues are also encountering the very serious systemic implications. Unfortunately, the money was just too good to pass up, with a 2018 study from the American Gaming Association suggesting the four major sports leagues were in-line to earn $4.2 billon dollars.6 That’s billion with a “b.”
And this is where ethics come into play. “Ethics is based on well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.”7 Broadly speaking, there are three ethical frameworks; Virtue ethics, Duty based ethics, and Goal-based ethics. Virtue ethics is the idea that there is always a right thing to do, though that right thing might not be the same in every situation.8 Duty based ethics is essentially about rules and laws. As a clergy-person, I have duties and guidelines I have committed to adhere to; I would say it is my duty to abide by such commitments. Laws are also duty-based ethics, as citizenship in America is based on the idea that we will abide by the rule of law. Lastly is also Goal-based ethics, the idea of trying to evaluate options by which will have the best impact.
Rand’s Objectivism
There is another moral philosophy, which few could explicitly name, but most everyone inherently abides by in our modern world; objectivism. Popularized by the author and philosopher Ayn Rand, objectivism is basically the idea that each person’s highest and noblest task is to do the best for themselves that they can.9 The economist Milton Friedman famously (or infamously I’d argue) opined that the “The Social Responsibility of Business Is To Increase Its Profits,”10 echoing Rand’s philosophy whether implicitly or explicitly (I care neither).
The legalization of sports betting perfectly exemplifies how Rand’s Objectivism and Friendman’s Profits have won out—the only questions that really matters these days are “will it help us win” and “will we make money.” And really, its more the latter, as companies make stupid decisions all the time, sacrificing long-term viability in the name of quarterly profits (see Simon Sinek’s criticisms). Perhaps the winning plays out in politics, as exemplified in the infamous “owning the libs” remark. Does anyone honestly think Trump or MAGA-aligned politicians really want anything other than to win? In recent weeks, some Republicans are resisting legislation and policies they themselves have supported in the past, fearing doing anything that would help Biden look good would ultimately help him win in the fall.11 As I heard recently Os Guinness say on a podcast interview, “Truth is dead, the only ultimate is power.” Or, perhaps said differently. Ethics is dead. The only thing that matters is power (winning) and money.
Is it too late?
One can only wonder how bad things will get before folks finally realize that ethics actually do matter. In sports, how much corruption and scandal will it take before leagues realize protecting the integrity of the game actually matters more than money? In politics, how much corruption and scandal will it take before certain voters realize a functioning democracy depends on ethical actions rather than just winning elections. In business, corruption and scandal will it take before companies realize the earth can only sustain so much extraction and exploitation before the climate collapses?
I am most in favor of virtue ethics, yet I long to see the day when a business person or sports league turns down money because it wasn’t the right thing to do. I’d even settle of goal based ethics occasionally—doing the most good to the most people. But, what I hope to say most of all, is that ethics matter. And while I’m not nearly smart or wise enough to dare say I know what is best in each and every situation, I think it is obvious that sacrificing any and every ethic other than that of money or winning (power) will ultimately lead to our own destruction.
“J.B. Bickerstaff threatened by gamblers, Cavaliers coach says sports betting in the NBA has crossed the line," CBS Sports, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/j-b-bickerstaff-threatened-by-gamblers-cavaliers-coach-says-sports-betting-in-the-nba-has-crossed-the-line/.
"Shohei Ohtani's interpreter admits to gambling problem, theft allegations surface," CNN, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/23/sport/ohtani-interpreter-theft-allegations-the-latest/index.html.
ESPN. "NBA Eyes Raptors' Jontay Porter over Betting Issues." ESPN, July 26, 2022. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39808900/nba-eyes-raptors-jontay-porter-betting-issues.
They also discuss other related and intriguing topics, such as when did private equity actually make anything better? When did profits become everything that mattered? And, while a corporate restaurant may be more profitable and efficient, it lacks “soul” (their words).
"What is gambling addiction and how widespread is it in the US?" MSN, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/what-is-gambling-addiction-and-how-widespread-is-it-in-the-us/ar-BB1kj30Z.
"How Much Do Leagues Stand to Gain from Legal Sports Betting?" American Gaming Association, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.americangaming.org/resources/how-much-do-leagues-stand-to-gain-from-legal-sports-betting/
"What is Ethics?" Santa Clara University, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/
When I was working on my MBA, I took a class on leadership. The professor (wrongly) stated that virtue ethics was basically relativism. This assertion frustrated me and I made sure to post in defense of virtue ethics on our class discussion boards.
Objectivism does not deserve a more thorough analysis.
"Milton Friedman and Social Responsibility," Forbes, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/milton-friedman-social-responsibility
"Trump Republicans stall Biden's bipartisan border reform," USA Today, accessed on March 23, 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/01/31/trump-republicans-stall-biden-bipartisan-border-reform/72400737007/