Sports Scandals

by Laura Finley; Jeffrey J. Fountain Peter Finley

  THE MICHAEL JORDAN GAMBLING CONSPIRACY

  The National Basketball Association twice investigated Michael Jordan, generally considered the best player in league history, for his high-stakes gambling habits. The second probe concluded in fall 1993 as Jordan made a surprising retirement from the game, prompting questions about whether the two events were related. NBA commissioner David Stern said they were not.

  Jordan, thirty at the time, claimed the retirement came as he lost motivation to play, having led the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive NBA titles and the 1992 Olympic team to gold in Barcelona. He had also lost his father, James Jordan, in a tragic murder only months after claiming the third NBA title. Jordan was offended by questions as to whether there could be links between his gambling and the murder. Two teenagers were caught when they used James Jordan's cell phone. They were convicted of the murder and sentenced to life in prison.

  The league had not taken action against Jordan after initially investigating his gambling losses during golf and card games with James ''Slim'' Bouler, a convicted cocaine dealer. Jordan testifled in Bouler's drug and money-laundering trial in 1991 that he had lost $57,000 to Bouler. He was not questioned about checks, totaling $108,000, made out to bail bondsman Eddie Dow, but the money was to cover gambling losses according to Dow's attorney.

  The second investigation was prompted when San Diego businessman Richard Esquinas coauthored the book Michael and Me: Our Gambling Addiction … My Cry for Help, in which he claimed Jordan had lost $1.25 million to him over ten days on the golf course. Jordan confirmed that they negotiated a $300,000 settlement to cover the losses. Esquinas agreed to settle for less than he was owed because he feared for his safety and believed he would never be paid the full amount. He claimed that in a phone conversation, Jordan said to him, ''Rich, I'd just might as well shoot you as to give you a check for $1.2 million.''19 Jordan released a statement saying, ''I have played golf with Richard Esquinas with wagers made between us. Because I did not keep records, I cannot verify how much I won or lost. I can assure you that the level of our wagers was substantially less than the preposterous amounts that have been reported.''20

  Jordan's gambling also was scrutinized by the league and the media because he was seen gambling in an Atlantic City casino the night before the Eastern Conference finals second game against the New York Knicks in 1993. Reports placed Jordan in the casino as late as 2 A.M., although he denied he was there that late. David Stern said in a press conference that the issue was closed, but at the same time deputy commissioner Russell T. Granik said the league was yet to interview Esquinas and that the league's security personnel would pursue loose ends.

  Esquinas cooperated with the investigation and said later that the league was particularly interested in a visit he had to Jordan's home on March 29, 1992. While watching college basketball on television, Jordan had a phone conversation. Esquinas claimed that Jordan discussed a betting line over the phone, saying to the other party, ''So you say the line is seven points?''21

  Apparently the league never asked Jordan about the phone call because the league never even interviewed him before concluding the investigation and announcing there had been no wrongdoing. The investigation was closed almost immediately after Jordan announced his retirement. The lawyer for Richard Esquinas questioned the veracity of the investigation given that Jordan was never interviewed about the point-spread conversation.

  While away from basketball, Jordan pursued a baseball career. By all accounts, he was not a good player, even at the minor league level. Through his lone season he batted a meager .202 and hit only three home runs. He played for the Birmingham Barons, a farm team of the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox were owned by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who inexplicably continued to honor Jordan's $3.9 million basketball contract while he played minor league baseball.

  In March 1995 Jordan announced he would return to the NBA with a two-word press release that read, ''I'm back.''22 He played seventeen games to close the season, and the Bulls were eliminated in the conference semifinals.

  He returned the following season and led the Bulls to a second run of three titles in 1996, 1997, and 1998.

  Questions have lingered among basketball fans as to whether Jordan's gambling played a part in his hiatus from the NBA. Although solid evidence has never surfaced that he bet on basketball or was secretly suspended from the league, some fans cite two of Jordan's own comments as disconcerting.

  First, when he retired amid the gambling investigation in 1993, he commented that he might return to the NBA, saying, ''If David Stern let's me back in the league, I may come back.'' This begged the question, why wouldn't the commissioner, who had cleared him of wrongdoing, welcome back the league's marquee player? The question was never put to Jordan, but sports columnists fueled the theory that he was asked to take a year off and address his gambling issues.23 Jordan added to the intrigue by saying, ''It doesn't mean I'm not going to play basketball somewhere else …'' as he stressed that he was leaving ''the NBA.''24 Second, when Jordan retired after the 1999 championship, he thanked Stern for giving him the ''opportunity'' to play basketball.

  Again, nobody asked how, exactly, Stern had given him an opportunity. NBA officials have consistently denied the allegation that there is a connection. NBA vice president Brian McIntyre said, ''There is no smoking gun. Anyone who links the two subjects is dead wrong.''25

  Jordan was interviewed for CBS's 60 Minutes in October 2005. He admitted, ''Yeah, I've gotten myself into [gambling] situations where I would not walk away and I've pushed the envelope.'' He continued, ''It's very embarrassing … one of the things you totally regret. So you look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'I was stupid.'''26 Jordan returned after his second retirement to play two more seasons with the Washington Wizards, from 2001 to 2003. He is currently a part owner of the Charlotte Bobcats.

  The most significant thing about this scandal is who it involves. Jordan was more than an icon in basketball. He was considered a celebrity and generally held up as one of, if not the number one, best player ever. Not only was he tremendously skilled on the court, but he was viewed as a generally decent human being who lived a relatively ''normal,'' albeit affluent, life. The scandal brought doubt about all of these things and has sullied his reputation to some degree.

  NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL POINT SHAVING

  It was the third quarter of a Northwestern and Iowa football game in 1994. Northwestern was on the one-yard line and almost certain to score. Running back Dennis Lundy took the handoff cleanly, drove toward the end zone and, inexplicably, fumbled away the ball. Iowa, a six-point favorite, would win the game 49-13 and easily cover the point spread.

  In the locker room after the game, an assistant coach overheard player Rodney Ray accuse Lundy of intentionally fumbling the ball. The assistant reported the incident to head coach Gary Barnett. Northwestern hired an investigator, who determined that Lundy and basketball player Dion Lee had been betting on college sports. Both were suspended by the school and information was turned over to the United States Attorney's office. Ultimately, Northwestern would be commended for cooperating with the federal investigation. The university, however, would also take a severe public relations hit as it came to light how deep the gambling problems ran on campus and among the athletes.

  Lundy's original story was that he had a sprained wrist from the previous play and that he was ''hit on the arm real good, and the ball just came out.''27

  The videotape did not demonstrate this to be true. He would later recant this story and told a federal judge that he fumbled on purpose to help ensure he would collect on a $400 bet he had placed against his own team. Lundy would ultimately be sentenced to a month in prison and subsequent probation for lying to a federal grand jury investigating campus gambling.

  Northwestern became the first school to suffer the ignominy of having both its men's basketball and football programs tied to illegal gambling at the same time. The football scandal came to
light only a week after two basketball players, Dion Lee and Dewey Williams, were sentenced to a month in federal prison for point shaving during the 1995 season. USA Today columnist Joanne Gerstner wrote, at the time, ''Northwestern projects itself as one of the nation's elite universities, on par with top-shelf institutions such as Stanford and the Ivy League schools. But the twin scandals serve as a reminder that scandal and disgrace aren't confined to so-called renegades.''28

  The football scandal differed from previous point-shaving incidents for three reasons, according to New York Times columnist Bill Dedman. First, point shaving generally occurs in basketball, where fewer players control a greater amount of the action. Second, point shaving generally involves a favored team still winning, but by fewer points than expected (they win the game but lose against the spread). In the case of Northwestern football, the goal was to lose the game by more points than expected. Third, the players put up their own money, whereas in most cases it is the outside influence of seasoned gamblers that leads to the scandal.

  Dion Lee had masterminded the plan to gamble on basketball games with the help of former Notre Dame football player Kevin Pendergast. Both men saw the arrangement as a way to escape mounting gambling debts. Lee would keep the score low and ensure that the team lost the games while allowing the opposing teams to cover the spread. Pendergast arranged the bets against North-western and promised Lee a cut of the winnings from games against Wisconsin, Penn State, and Michigan. Pendergast was responsible for between $40,000 and $70,000 in bets. He paid Lee a mere $4,000. Williams was recruited into the scheme for $700, as another player to help keep Northwestern's scores down Pendergast lost all of his money in the final game of the scheme when North-western failed to lose by over twenty-five points to Michigan. He was sentenced to two months in prison, and he and Lee were ordered to spend five years speaking on college campuses about the dangers of gambling.

  The Northwestern gambling scandal even touched players who had never bet on a game or been engaged in efforts to fix the outcome of games. Former Northwestern cornerback Dwight Brown was the last of a group of athletes to be sentenced. He was sentenced to thirty days in jail for lying twice to a grand jury investigating gambling on Big Ten campuses. The federal investigation caught eleven former football and basketball players. All pleaded guilty: five to perjury, four to point shaving, and two to illegal gambling.

  Through the 1990s gambling affected college sports at universities across the country. Gambling rings involving athletes were found at the University of Maine, University of Rhode Island, and Bryant College. Football and basketball players at the University of Maryland and Holy Cross were suspended for betting on college sports. Boston College football players were suspended for gambling, including betting against their own team.

  A 1999 study conducted at the University of Michigan sought to fathom the depths of gambling among male college athletes. Results indicated that almost half had bet on college sports, with about five percent having bet on their own games, admitting to shaving points, or providing inside information to gamblers.

  Equally troubling was that a second Michigan survey of game officials revealed that 20 percent had bet on the NCAA basketball tournament, and two admitted that their knowledge of the point spread affected how they called a game.

  BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCANDAL

  On November 6, 1996, Boston College again had its athletic program thrust into the national spotlight for the all the wrong reasons. The school had suspended thirteen football players for gambling on professional and college sports in violation of NCAA rules. Eleven of the thirteen players were suspended from the football team for wagering from $25 to $1,000 on other games, including the World Series and college and professional sports. Two of the thirteen players were caught wagering on a Boston College football game, and both bet against Boston College to cover the spread against Syracuse. The total amount wagered on the Syracuse game was $450. The players lost their wagers when Boston College won the game 45-17, easily covering the thirteen-point spread. In a Boston Herald article on November 14, 1996, two of the suspended football players spoke out (on condition of anonymity) very bitterly about the situation. One player said, ''I know I did the wrong thing. … But a lot of others did wrong, too, and we're taking the fall for everyone who ever laid a bet.''29 In the interview, one of the players claimed that at a team meeting only weeks before, twenty-five to thirty football players acknowledged some type of gambling. The investigation also uncovered student bookies, and one reportedly provided a list of over 500 clients on the campus.

  When asked to comment on coaches' responsibility towards preventing gambling by athletes, Boston College basketball coach Jim O'Brien responded, ''On the list of priorities, agents have been No. 1, followed by drugs and the general topic of physical abuse of women. Gambling has been way down on the list.''30 Surrounded by rumors of his imminent termination at the conclusion of the season, head football coach Dan Henning resigned on November 25, 1996, only weeks after the gambling scandal unfolded.

  ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL POINT SHAVING

  The Arizona State University (ASU) scandal began with a $100 wager on the outcome of a professional football game. It would end with seven men behind bars and shame brought to the campus of Arizona State University. At the center of the scandal was college basketball player Stevin ''Hedake'' Smith, who had agreed to shave points in ASU basketball games to help escape mounting debt from gambling. He then enlisted the help of teammate Isaac Burton. It was during the 1993 basketball season that Smith would place a bet with a classmate to back up his comments about a professional football game.

  Smith lost. ''And within weeks was betting on anything I could,'' he said.31 He would eventually owe a reported $10,000. It was then that he was approached with an offer that he believed was too good to refuse. Smith agreed to fix ASU basketball games for $20,000 per game.

  The scheme was relatively simple in design: Smith and Burton would ensure that the opposing teams would stay close enough in the games to cover the point spread. ASU could still win the game, but they had to make sure the opponent was closer than the spread that Las Vegas odds makers created to motivate gambling on the game. Smith and Burton accomplished this by failing to score when they had the ball or by playing less-than-stellar defense. Smith would admit that even in a game in which he scored a career-high thirty-nine points, against Oregon State, his defense was intentionally lacking. He said that he just ''stepped back a half step and he had the room he needed'' to score.32 While Arizona State won that game by six points,

  Oregon State covered the spread, and the gamblers, who had bet on OSU, won their bets.

  The plan was hatched by Benny Silman, a popular bookie on the ASU campus and to whom Smith owed the $10,000. Silman suggested a payment plan that would allow Smith to even make a handsome personal profit. The plan also involved Joseph Gagliano Jr., a Phoenix investment adviser, Vincent Basso, a schoolmate of Gagliano's, and Chicago bookmakers Joseph Mangiamele and his father Dominic Mangiamele. All five would be charged with money laundering and illegal sports betting.

  The gamblers won their bets on the first four games they fixed, all in the 2003-4 season. ASU beat both Oregon and Oregon State, but failed to cover the point spreads. Against Southern California, ASU was a seven point favorite, but actually lost the game by twelve points. It was during the fifth game, against Washington, that things fell apart. Arizona State started the game very poorly, with players missing fourteen consecutive shots. However, after halftime, they played much better and won the game by eighteen points, easily covering the spread and breaking the bank for the gamblers who had bet against them.

  The gamblers had amassed their winnings from the first four games and, through intermediaries, had placed many wagers on the Washington game, likely totaling $1 million spread across many casinos and online betting sites. Each bet was made in a sum of less than $10,000, which allowed the transaction to avoid reporting requirements by the fed
eral government. Prior to the game, Las Vegas casinos suspended betting because the wagers far surpassed the volume of money generally bet on this type of game and because an overwhelming amount of it was bet against Arizona State.

  David Price, an associate commissioner for the Pac-10 Conference, received a call early in the day of the ASU-Washington game, alerting him to the fact that wagers made on the game were ''fishy.''33 The caller, a bookie, told him that many young, novice gamblers were making uncharacteristically large wagers on what would generally be considered a meaningless game. And they were all betting that ASU would not cover the spread. Price contacted the Nevada Gaming Control Board, which affirmed that it was suspicious of the activity and planned to interview the players. Media reports later suggested that the players were tipped at halftime that authorities were onto the fix, so they reversed course and played well in the second half.

  Investigations by both the Pac-10 Conference and the Nevada Gaming Control Board found no wrongdoing, and the scandal temporarily died out. In spring 1997, however, the investigation was resurrected when information was provided to the FBI, possibly from friends of Silman who had been arrested on unrelated charges and hoped to secure plea deals.

  By June 1999, the five gamblers and two players were convicted and sentenced to prison or probation. Silman and Gagliano were sentenced to forty-six and fifteen months in prison, respectively. Joseph Mangiamele was sentenced to three months in jail, which reflected his ''high level of cooperation in the case.''34

  Dominic Mangiamele was sentenced to three months of home detention because his involvement was limited. Basso was sentenced to a year in prison.

  Smith, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sports bribery, was sentenced to one year in prison. His true punishment was greater than that, though. According to his attorney, the scandal killed any hopes he had for an NBA career, and he ultimately filed for bankruptcy. At his sentencing, Smith said, ''I realize what I did was wrong. I wish I could redo it.''35