Officials Gambling?

[jktlax]

Is there any rules or policies by the MDOC,NCAA or the NFHS on Gambling? Can officials go to the casino's and race tracks to gamble? can they play football or basketball pools? Is there any contracts or written pledges that Lacrosse officials have to sign that states they will not gamble?

[LaxRef]

I poked around online and found nothing specific prevent officials from gambling, although NCAA basketball officials are apparently shown a video warning of the dangers of gambling. The NCAA has a booklet on gambling, which mentions players, coaches, and "conference staff officials" (which I believe refers to people like the president of the Big 10, not game officials) as being prohibited from gambling.

I have never had to sign a pledge to not gamble. I somehow think my occasional nickel-dime-quarter poker game and $1 per person prop bet Super Bowl pools aren't going to affect my judgment during a lacrosse game or give unsavory types influence over me.

Also, see this thread:

http://www.lacrosseforums.com/showthread.php?p=1331201

[jktlax]

Thanks LaxRef, I do know that there are some football conferences like the Ivy,Patriot and the Colonial that require their game Officials to sign a document that they will not gamble at all. Since We cover those leagues in Lax, I thought you might know a trend or movement for the referees in our sport to do the same. I thought you or eme might know since you guys usually know what is going on in lax world. Thanks again

[3rdPersonPlural]

I thought you or eme might know since you guys usually know what is going on in lax world. Thanks again

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/43/bojangles.jpg (http://www.threadbombing.com/details.php?image_id=2253)

Currying favor with the potentates, huh? :agree:

Out here in the wild west, we wager DURING the game on bagattaway bocci. From within the crease, official tosses ball-from-scored-goal up to the midfield X for face-off. Official who comes closest to the center of the X wins.

Since our leagues lack dancing girls or rock bands to entertain during these stoppages of play, a good competitive game of Bagattaway bocci keeps the attention of the fan on the field and a good toss occasionally gets a smattering of applause.

Wagers, of course, reflect our station in life. A gazillion semilions was at risk once, and a case of 2 buck Chuck was won by a ref who owns prime vineyards. He declined to claim the prize. A few feet was all that stood between him and a delightful evening learning about video gaming from the experts, which was misunderstood to mean an obligation to babysit my two youts. Maybe that's why he lost.

However, officials gambling on the field is bad enough, an official throwing a game seems rather scandelous.

[jktlax]

Please go to this link, Its another High Profile Referee involved in gambling. We should be held to a higher standard. No Officials should gamble, not even an office pool.

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1144&CID=752776

[LaxRef]

Please go to this link, Its another High Profile Referee involved in gambling. We should be held to a higher standard. No Officials should gamble, not even an office pool.

I think you're overreacting. Millions of people gamble legally without ill result, other than the fact that they lose money (if you want to argue that people shouldn't gamble because it's a poor financial proposition in most cases, I'm right with you there). If you say, "Officials shouldn't gamble because there have been a few high-profile cases where it's led to problems," you start a slippery slope.

For example, millions of people also drink legally without problems. I'm sure some of those people are officials and, based on sheer numbers, that some of those officials are alcoholics. Being alcoholics, some of them have certainly officiated games while drinking. Should we tell every official in every sport in the country they can't drink any alcohol because of that? The 12 remaining officials will have a very hard time covering the games in Salt Lake City, let alone the rest of the country. :chuckle:

Seriously, most officials I know drink, but they don't let it interfere with their officiating because they don't drink until after the game. I don't see why gambling is different.

Now, specific types of gambling obviously are a problem. You can't bet on lacrosse games in a league you work, and it probably makes sense not to gamble on lacrosse at all. You shouldn't gamble enough that you get indebted to the mob, or even get in debt. But do you really want to ban, say, a top NCAA DI official because he occasionally buys a lottery ticket?

Maybe if officiating is your full-time job they can put a no gambling or no drinking clause in your contract, but most of us are independent contractors, and there aren't enough of us. If you start passing draconian rules every time some high profile official screws up, that's not going to help.

I'm confident that the gambling I've done in the past year ($2 in a Super Bowl pool, $10 for a fantasy football league) did not affect my officiating, and I think most people would agree, just as they would agree that a beer after the game is not a problem (although you do need to wait until you're out of uniform and off the field!).

[CardinalPuff]

Out here in the wild west, we wager DURING the game on bagattaway bocci. From within the crease, official tosses ball-from-scored-goal up to the midfield X for face-off. Official who comes closest to the center of the X wins.

here, on the high plains, we have a standing bet that if the ball lands perfectly on the "x" the official who tossed the ball collects a case of beer....

to my knowledge no one has ever collected...probably because, as is the correct mechanic, we always hand the ball to faceoff official :chuckle:

[BlueJaysLaxFan]

Again, not knowing all of the facts and relying strictly on a newspaper report that wants to sell a few extra papers, judgement cannot be passed on someone who has been accused or charged with crimes. I am curious to learn more.

This thread along with the ethics thread again calls to question as to under what circumstances does an official get pulled from the roster when accused or charged with a misdeameanor or a felony. I can tell you that certain conditions of employment will cause an eyebrow to be raised if you have an extreme debt or a history or bankruptcy or if there are other allegations in your history.

I guess the question does not come down to legal due process in our recent discussions, but an assessment of risk. Will an official accused or charged with a crime pose a risk on the players or the game? Does the risk truly outweigh the risk of the league or association being sued for potentially pulling an innocent person from the roster? Is the risk posed by the official a true risk, or a perceived one created by media reports or societal reactions? This is what makes this question so tough to answer, and IMM cannot be resolved by a hard fast rule. It takes a committee of dedicated peers in a association or league to assess the situation and make a decision on a case-by-case basis. And, a proper decision, once reached, must be defendable.

[TXD2LAX]

Again, not knowing all of the facts and relying strictly on a newspaper report that wants to sell a few extra papers, judgement cannot be passed on someone who has been accused or charged with crimes. I am curious to learn more.

This thread along with the ethics thread again calls to question as to under what circumstances does an official get pulled from the roster when accused or charged with a misdeameanor or a felony. I can tell you that certain conditions of employment will cause an eyebrow to be raised if you have an extreme debt or a history or bankruptcy or if there are other allegations in your history.

I guess the question does not come down to legal due process in our recent discussions, but an assessment of risk. Will an official accused or charged with a crime pose a risk on the players or the game? Does the risk truly outweigh the risk of the league or association being sued for potentially pulling an innocent person from the roster? Is the risk posed by the official a true risk, or a perceived one created by media reports or societal reactions? This is what makes this question so tough to answer, and IMM cannot be resolved by a hard fast rule. It takes a committee of dedicated peers in a association or league to assess the situation and make a decision on a case-by-case basis. And, a proper decision, once reached, must be defendable.
Very good post. Thank you, Sir.

[Woodenstick]

The big difference between lax and NCAA football and basketball is that the lax does not have high stakes gambling based on its games. As a result of this gambling, football and basketball must be extremely vigilant against corruption. Officials with financial problems or interacting with gamblers could easily become a potential liabliity. While lax corruption could occur, it is less likely than in these sports. Therefore lax can focus more on general integrity and less on financial/minor gambling issues.

[shrekjr]

here, on the high plains, we have a standing bet that if the ball lands perfectly on the "x" the official who tossed the ball collects a case of beer....

to my knowledge no one has ever collected...probably because, as is the correct mechanic, we always hand the ball to faceoff official :chuckle:
What bothers me most about this post is that you guys are still playing this game and the "X" has been gone how long now? :bartmoon:

[CardinalPuff]

What bothers me most about this post is that you guys are still playing this game and the "X" has been gone how long now? :bartmoon:

there is no "x" behind the goal either, yet it exists nevertheless....smartypants....

[3rdPersonPlural]

...... the correct mechanic, we always hand the ball to faceoff official :chuckle:

http://www.threadbombing.com/data/media/2/bap.gif (http://www.threadbombing.com/details.php?image_id=556)

Well how much fun is that? Handing the ball over - sheesh - you take all the fun out of goal. You probably are going to suggest that we ought to be checking sticks after goals, too, huh?

[CardinalPuff]

http://www3.telus.net/textures/images/brando_apoc.jpg

the horror...

[massref]

What bothers me most about this post is that you guys are still playing this game and the "X" has been gone how long now? :bartmoon:

The "X" is still there with the NFHS rules. Can you ship the beer out of state? I'm pretty accurate.
:drool: