As long as you aren't gambling on the sport you
currently play you can gamble all you want.
It's irresponsible and stupid but it's your money.
Writer's Q&A:
Is it ok for athletes and commentators to openly gamble,
skip their debts for awhile, and keep their positions like Charles Barkley and Pacman
Jones have recently done?
Bill Smith: There are two issues with athletes gambling.
First they can not bet on any game in their sport. Ask MLB how they feel about
Pete Rose. I have no problem if players play poker, blackjack, roulette or
whatever as long as they don't get huge losses. All leagues have trouble with
gambling. The NBA is looking into fixing games by the refs. The number of bad
calls in other sports (OSU vs. Ill)
make you wonder if that problem has not leaked into other sports. Because it is
so hard to find out just what players are betting on and how much they are
losing, I think a total ban on casino gambling is not a bad idea.
Ryan Leonardo: Absolutely not. It is bad for sports, as well as our
youth. Pacman and Barkley have never
been good examples of a professional athlete, but it still doesn't discredit
the fact that they are still setting a bad example for the kids who hear about
these stories. This type of behavior is
something you never see from Jordan, LeBron, Nash, Nowitzki or other star
players.
Eric Geier: I think Charles Barkley said it perfectly, it's
not a problem because they have the money to gamble. Still, blowing millions is
pretty ridiculous even by Pacman and Barkley standards.
Pete Quint: As long as you aren't gambling on the sport you
currently play you can gamble all you want.
It's irresponsible and stupid but it's your money. Not paying a gambling
debt is REALLY dumb. It's fortunate that
these are high profile athletes because if the average Joe would ring up a $20,000
gambling debt and not pay up he would be in some serious hot water. People don't screw around in the gambling
world.
Steve Patterson: I don’t understand the interest in
gambling. We do some reviews on the site of gambling related sites but I don’t
find gambling attractive at all. It looks bad for a commentator like Barkley to
rake up $400,000 and not pay it until he’s sued. And a player that is
constantly in trouble to not pay $20,000 to another casino is just asking for
the NFL to kick him out permanently. Donate the money to some worthy cause,
because the odds are against you every time you sit down at a table in Vegas.