Wayne Root: NFL Should Worry About Murder and Thugs, Not Sports Betting

2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate and sports handicapper, Wayne Allyn Root, talks the NFL’s REAL PROBLEMS…and they aren’t SPORTS BETTING.  Be sure to check out Wayne's site www.rootforamerica.com

Aaron Hernandez is only the tip of the iceberg, although allegedly committing "mass murder" is a pretty big deal. Hernandez appears to have been a one-man crime spree. But he has loads of company- 27 NFL players have been arrested since the Super Bowl. Yes, I said TWENTY-SEVEN.

Then there’s the “thug attitude.” NFL brothers Maurkice and Mike Pouncy are Exhibit A. See their photo, covered in bling bling and gang tattoos (just like Hernandez), and wearing caps that shout “Free Hernandez.” Lovely image for the NFL.

Now I know the NFL defends itself by saying arrests of NFL players are down from previous highs. So what? Can you imagine a Fortune 500 corporation firm bragging that “arrests of our executives are down.” These are millionaire players- not drunk teens, not thugs, not aimless drug addicts, not homeless bums. People that went to college and make millions of dollars per year have no excuse for getting arrested and causing mayhem. 

NFL players are the privileged ½ of ½ of ½ of ½ of 1%. These are the luckiest young men in the world- playing a game that we all played for free as kids and getting paid millions of dollars, while hysterical fans scream their names and beg for autographs. What a life. Only an idiot would screw that up.

But I think the more important issue is the hypocrisy of the NFL. This is a league that bans ads for Las Vegas during games…that prohibits the name “Super Bowl” from being used in Super Bowl parties in Vegas…that is suing New Jersey to try to stop the legalization of sports betting. It’s all so ludicrous, pompous and hypocritical that I could gag. Perhaps if the NFL stopped wasting time and resources on gambling, they could better police their own players and prevent the rampant numbers of assaults, bar fights, rapes, spousal abuse, murder, and drug abuse.

Sports betting is the national pastime, yet the NFL refuses to acknowledge it exists. What are the old, tired arguments?

*It’s immoral. Really? It’s no more immoral than poker (just legalized in many states), casinos (sponsors of sports teams), lottery (legal in most states), horse-racing, stock trading, and certainly day trading, betting futures, options, or penny stocks. Yet they are all legal.

Life is about risk-taking. I personally have bet millions on my businesses, homes, stocks and precious metals (gold and silver). It’s all gambling. Anyone who bought a home in Las Vegas between 2000 and 2007 knows that! Risk is a part of life.

By the way, if gambling is so immoral, why do states run ads encouraging their poorest and most ill-educated citizens to gamble away their money on lottery? With sports betting the gambler has a 50/50 chance of winning. With a lottery ticket, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening. Yet state governments will gladly take your money, with nary a warning or complaint.

*It’s dangerous and addictive. Really? So is booze, sex, food, social media, shopping, and golf. I have more friends that have ruined their marriages over golf than gambling. Do we ban golf? Half of America is addicted to over-eating. Do we ban McDonalds? In a free country we even allow restaurants like “Heart Attack Grill” in Las Vegas. The choice to eat unhealthy food is yours, not government's. The choice to gamble on sports should be yours too.

*Games will be “fixed” if we legalize gambling. Really? Actually there have been far more scandals on Wall Street throughout history than sports gambling. We see “insider stock trading” scandals every week. So why not close down Wall Street?

Sports betting scandals have been remarkably few and far between. And the best way to keep them rare is to legalize sports betting. Did prohibition stop drinking? Is the war on drugs stopping drug use? The reality is legalizing sports gambling is the best way to minimize scandals and addictive gambling. Sticking our head in the sand accomplishes nothing. 

*Gambling will increase if it is legalized. Really? In the 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission, Congressional investigators found sports gambling to be a $380 billion dollar industry…bigger than the auto industry…and America’s most prevalent form of gambling. That was in 1999. Today sports gambling might well be a trillion dollar annual business. You think legalizing it could possibly make it any bigger? 

Almost every red-blooded male in America is already betting on sports now. Over $8 billion is bet on one game- Super Bowl. Some experts think more than that is bet on March Madness. The problem is it’s all being bet illegally, and only the mafia profits. Legalize it and Uncle Sam gets the tax money. Sticking our head in the sand won’t make one gambler stop, so we might as well legalize it and tax it.

*This is how we keep sports clean and honest. Really? Actually this is how you help the Gambino Crime Family keep billions in profits. Did it ever occur to you that politicians are fighting on the side of organized crime? Perhaps the same politicians claiming to fight for “morality,” are actually pocketing million dollar bribes from the mafia to keep sports betting illegal.

*We need to “protect” you from yourself. Really? You need to stop me from doing something I love with my own money, on my own computer, in my own bedroom? You’re kidding, right?

*Online Sports Gambling will hurt families. Really? I think it benefits families when it’s legal. I ought to know- I live in Las Vegas. I can make legal bets with the click of a mouse on my home computer with any legal licensed sportsbook in Nevada (if I open an online account). It takes only seconds to make a bet. I’m doing it at home with my family nearby. When I’m done making my sports bets, I walk a few steps into my living room and spend 3 hours watching Monday Night Football with my kids. It’s very much pro family- at least it has been for me for the past 20+ years with my four beautiful children.

In the end, one sentence sums it up: Murder or sports betting? It’s not even close. It's time for the NFL to join the 21st century and refocus priorities.

Wayne Allyn Root is the brand name of sports handicapping- with well over 3 million clients and counting. He was the Network Oddsmaker for FNN (now known as CNBC). He is the author of 8 books. Wayne was awarded a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars in 2006- the only oddsmaker or sports handicapper ever honored. In 2008 Wayne entered politics and won the Libertarian Vice Presidential nomination. His web site is: WinningEDGE.com