Yeah, he’s going to be out for a while. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is going to be hit with a massive fine and probably a lengthy suspension to boot after essentially insinuating the NBA officials are corrupt and the league’s too involved in gambling.
It’s an interesting debate…but one’s that’s definitely going to cost Rudy’s bottom line.
In light of the Timberwolves defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, Rudy Gobert gestured on the court that ref Scott Foster was taking bribes/betting against the Wolves for his performance and doubled down that sentiment in his post-game press conference. Whether the accusation here is true or not, the impact of gambling on professional sports does raise a good discussion.
Okay, so, I think Rudy Gobert has really made a world of hurt for himself with these comments.
If you didn’t watch the Timberwolves vs. Cavaliers game last night, then you probably didn’t see the big controversy to come out of the game. In the dying seconds of regulation with Minnesota engaged in a tense battle with Cleveland, Rudy Gobert picked up his 6th and final foul of the night and was ejected by referee Scott Foster due to foul accumulation.
And, in response to the foul call and ejection, Rudy Gobert made hand gestures that essentially insinuated Scott Foster was either taking a bribe against the Wolves or was placing bets on the Cavs to win as he walked off the court (which earned him a technical foul call and helped Cleveland tie the game and then win it in overtime).
But, in the post-game press conference, Gobert made certain no one could debate over what he meant by his hand gesture, “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.”
Yeah…he’s going to see a hefty fine and lengthy suspension for that comment.
But, even though there’s almost assuredly (you can never be 100% certain) no issues with Foster and his referee team in this instance, his complaints against gambling and the impact it has on sports does raise a good question: when does gambling become TOO involved with the game?
We’ve already seen in the past that gambling can take a terrible, detrimental hold on sports and the figures and franchises involved in it. Just look at the NBA and MLB for example.
Back in the 1920’s, the World Series champion Chicago White Sox were accused (and most likely did despite the questionable acquittal) of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinatti Reds as members of their team were being paid off by Arnold Rothstein of the New York Jewish Mafia.
The eight players of question were acquitted of the conspiracy (despite testimony from Jackson and ringleader Arnold Gandil that they DID talk to the mafia gamblers and took money from them), but all of them (including Jackson) were banned from the MLB regardless (probably because of the shadiness of the conspiracy) and the reputation of the league nearly went up in smoke due to this controversy.
Then, forty-five years later in 1985-87, baseball legend Pete Rose, who would be one of the greatest players today, was accused and found guilty of betting FOR his Cincinnati Reds to win games he was playing and coaching in during this timeframe (at least he didn’t bet against his team like the “Black Sox”). And, in 1989, he was given a lifetime ban from the MLB for these bets…which still has not been rescinded to this day.
Now turning to basketball, the biggest gambling scandal over the last forty years came from the NBA as former referee Tim Donaghy, who was refereeing from 2003-07, had placed numerous bets on games he was refereeing based on the “insider” knowledge he acquired that came with being a ref. This whole fiasco nearly forced the US Congress to get involved and then NBA commissioner David Stern had to invoke serious and harsh punishments on Donaghy’s collaborators and fixed the rules that the ref exploited.
Why am I saying all of this? It’s because these examples show that no matter if it is a world champion team (the 1919 White Sox), a sporting legend (Pete Rose, Joe Jackson), or even the referees themselves (Tim Donaghy), people of all standing involved in professional sports can become addicted to gambling and throw away their integrity and honor to make a quick buck.
And the sudden advent and onslaught of legalized gambling is only going to make these situations even worse as Gobert pointed out.
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