I was listening to the radio recently when a teacher from the Dallas-Fort Worth area called in to a national sports show. He expressed his concern about the alarming number of young men in his high school classroom who are gambling on their phones during class. This teacher noted that many of these boys are obtaining Social Security numbers from their parents without their knowledge and from older siblings or friends. Unfortunately, very few parents are aware of this activity.
This disturbs me. Like so many other things, this pursuit could create many addiction issues.
- Gambling unleashes dopamine, which can addict.
- Gambling fuels the competitive nature, which causes males to exercise poor judgment.
- Gambling can create scenarios where individuals grow desperate.
These factors can influence young men to convince themselves to bet money they do not have because they believe they are sure to win.
Greed embeds itself in gambling. The Bible condemns greed. The apostle Paul writes that greedy people cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
Greed is anti-God.
Greed is anti-Christ.
The NFL should distance itself from gambling for several reasons. My top three concerns are these: First, gambling can cause enormous harm to countless families and can even lead to their destruction due to addiction issues, especially males. Second, the NFL is enticing many underage young men to engage in organized gambling. Third, organized crime inevitably connects itself to gambling, which could infiltrate the NFL.
A historical example of this can be found in the 1919 scandal during the World Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds. Several White Sox players were discovered to have intentionally underperformed in exchange for money from gamblers. This tainted the integrity of the series. (This scandal and Shoeless Joe Jackson formed the backdrop of the memorable movie Field of Dreams.)
Believe it or not, the NFL has already suffered through its own gambling scandals. In the 1930s, players were found to be consorting with gamblers, which impacted the sport’s integrity. (David Marranis writes extensively about this in his book When Pride Still Mattered.) Similar outrages have also occurred at the collegiate level.
Commissioner Roger Goodell faces a challenging role as the rule enforcer for the National Football League while working as the owners’ employee. For many owners, the number one goal is to maximize profits. While the NFL continues to grow by dominating the entertainment landscape, there will come a time when they reach a peak, plateau, and eventually decline. Nothing lasts forever. I can’t say gambling will permanently destroy the National Football League, but mark my words. At some point, there will be a severe scandal parallel to the “Black Sox” scandal.
There is a growing list of cultural opinion leaders advising people not to gamble. As a Christian, I agree with them.*
I’m Mark Edge; thanks for reading.
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You can purchase Mark’s new book Holy Chaos How To Walk with God in a Frenzied World here:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+edge&crid=3B1BM6W3LHOG0&sprefix=%2Caps%2C137&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent
*Thanks, Grammarly, for your editorial insights.