I wonder why the NFL makes such a big deal about each team submitting an ultra-transparent injury report to the NFL league office (“Ravens could face penalty over Lamar Jackson injury report,” Oct. 27). Do they really want each opposing team to know who they will be facing each game day? Or is it because the NFL is totally beholden to the gambling interests (DraftKings, FanDuel, casino sports books, etc.) so their odds makers can set an accurate line?
That’s probably the NFL’s and all other sports’ dirty little secret. The action would be stunted or put the “line off.” The NFL really wants everybody to bet on their games. If the odds makers can’t set an accurate line, all legal (and illegal bookies) will suffer and lose big revenue. We couldn’t have that, could we? It seems to me that the NFL and all other big-time sports are being governed by the gambling interests behind the scenes. Pro sports and the NCAA garner astonishing revenue through those legal gambling interests via advertising and, oh yes, a piece of the rake. They have, to me, become progressively dependent on the gambling houses.
If the NFL really wants total transparency, why aren’t all NFL team practices open to everyone, including the opposing team’s scouts? Right now, they are all super cloak and dagger. Maybe an astute odds maker, if admitted, might detect that Lamar may be a step slower coming back from his injury. That line maker guy might even keep his mouth shut and direct his friends to go against the Ravens. This sounds silly, doesn’t it? Or does it?
Fining NFL teams owned by billionaires and managed by multimillionaire coaches and GMs trivial amounts for those delayed or inaccurate injury reports is a joke anyway. At least to me.
— George Hammerbacher, Baltimore
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