Basketball Bribery: A Familiar Scandal

Those of us who have followed college basketball for half a century or more will remember the stunning impact on the game when several of the nation's foremost teams were charged with conspiring with organized gamblers. That was back in 1951, 12 years after the Tall Firs of Oregon won the first NCAA basketball title in 1939.

Players from the University of Kentucky, Bradley University and the 1950 NCAA champions, City College of New York (CCNY), were penalized for taking bribes from gamblers. Now a New York Times article by Robert Lipsyte suggests that what hit the three major basketball programs-- destroying one of them--may be spreading like a cancer to many intercollegiate programs a generation later. He wrote that some "say it happens all the time, and will bring down college basketball."

That ominous possibility suddenly grows in concern at an unlikely place, the University of Oregon, where I am, and where this year's high-ranked team has potential to repeat the Tall Firs feat. With that prospect comes danger, as gamblers are attracted-- as they were in 1951-- to the best teams. Oregon coach, Ernie Kent, like his colleagues around the country, has alerted his players to the danger. Still, as the Times writer suggests, the threat not only is there-- it may be spreading.

What causes some players to listen to the pitch from gamblers is that they are not asked to "throw" games. Instead, they shave points to assure the final result will allow gambler s to win heavily by beating the margin of victory predicted by those in Las Vegas who issue so-called point spreads on games. If a team is predicted to win by 10, gamblers can win heavily by bribing players on the favored team to win by a smaller margin wagered by the gamblers.

Living in Peoria, Ill., a half-century ago, I knew players on the Bradley team involved in the scandal. They told me it seemed innocent enough to shave points, not lose, for money-- especially when they were illegally given money at school with the coach's blessings. When they returned to the lockerroom after practice, often they'd find $20 bills stuck in their street shoes by boosters of the team. It was no bribe, but illegal under NCAA rules.

The Bradley star player, Gene Melchiorre, still today is an outcast in Peoria, where the school refuses to hang his jersey in the gym with those of other all-Americans. The price was worse at CCNY, where the team, coached by the fabled Nat Holman, lost support, and the sport eventually was dropped.

Twenty years after the first big scandal, I chaired the Intercollegiate Committee on Gambling Awareness. The committee suggested methods colleges could use to defuse the gambling threat. They were ignored by directors of athletics who had their heads buried in the ground. My director at Northwestern University, Tippy Dye, once basketball coach at the University of Washington, made his displeasure with me clear: "Don't you ever again stick your nose in the business of the directors!"

In the late '90s, Dye's myopia resulted in the gambling chickens coming home to roost at a very unlikely place-- Northwestern, a private university, with a sports reputation as a "loser." Players at Northwestern were found guilty of point shaving in football as well as basketball. The basketball bribes were especially embarrassing. The lowly regarded Northwestern team was bribed to shave points in reverse-- to lose by more than predicted. Lipsyte quotes today's athletics director at Northwestern, Rick Taylor: "Gamling is America's stealth addiction. We can't protect ourselves against the kid who thinks he's above the law."

Taylor makes an awkward try to get off the hook, claiming privacy laws prevent schools from looking for player contacts with gamblers. He ignores the way college sport has mushroomed financially. Million dollar contracts for coaches make it easy for some athletes with tight budgets to feel they can justify point-shaving to make a few dollars.

It is fun watching this great Oregon team. Unfortunately, its great ability means the NCAA will be watching, too, just in case.