"Betting scandals are symptomatic of all that's wrong with college athletics today," says author Charley Rosen. "It's all about money. Everybody's making money but the athletes. Isn't it only natural some players want their share of the cake, too?"
SO, you think it can't happen at your school, right? Your heroes would never involve themselves with bookmakers. Your guys would never bet on games. Your guys would never give inside information to shady people in exchange for payoffs.
Your guys would never shave points, right?
Don't be so sure. It has happened all over the college sports world, including Mississippi.
There has been at least one documented case of an athlete's involvement with gamblers here, although details have been clouded by 41 years.
But this much is certain: It could happen again. Mississippi collegiate athletic officials say they are being proactive in guarding against gambling. That's good. They should be.
That's because today's high-dollar environment in collegiate athletics all but invites student-athletes to find a way to get their share.
Coaches make hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of dollars and often jump from one school or another to make more. The TV networks make money. The universities make money. The players? They get a scholarship — and, sadly, many of them know they will never graduate.
"Betting scandals are symptomatic of all that's wrong with college athletics today," says author Charley Rosen. "It's all about money. Everybody's making money but the athletes. Isn't it only natural some players want their share of the cake, too?"
Rosen has authored 11 books, including two that have detailed college basketball betting scandals. In The Wizard of Odds, Rosen details how, in the early 1960s, a former basketball player named Jack Molinas set up a network of college basketball players around the country who gave inside information to bookmakers and/or shaved points.
Former Mississippi State standout Jerry Graves, an All-Southeastern Conference center and one of the Bulldogs' greatest ever players, was one of those players detailed in the book. Graves' alleged involvement occurred in the 1960-61 season, a year when he led State to the SEC championship.
In the book, Rosen writes that gamblers considered Graves "a coup, because he was a bona fide All-American."
Graves, who has spent his adult life in education and now teaches in Lexington, Tenn., says his involvement in the well-publicized scandal was far overblown.
"It was like somebody would ask me if we were going to win, and I'd say, yes, sure, we're going to win," Graves said by telephone from his home.
Did he shave points?
"No," Graves says.
Did he accept money for information?
"Yes, I did," he says. "But it wasn't much. Today, it wouldn't be considered anything. Of course, if I had it to do again, I wouldn't take anything.
"I was all about winning," Graves says. "My objective was always to win."
Perhaps, but the NBA, after examining evidence that included an FBI investigation, banned Graves. From all accounts, Graves, who was drafted in the second round by Chicago, was good enough to have played — and played well — in the NBA.
Red Stroud, a teammate, remembers Graves "as a great player, a really good guy."
"I remember we found out about the whole thing after the season," Stroud, who lives near Forest, says. "We found out the FBI had been watching him and had been at our games. I don't know if he did what they said he did, but I do know he couldn't have done it much because he helped us win a lot of games."
Mississippi Sports Writers Hall of Famer Robert "Steamboat" Fulton, who now lives in San Francisco, covered many of those Mississippi State games. He remembers an interview with Graves a couple years later.
"Jerry was playing on a touring semi-pro team that came through Jackson," Fulton says. "I asked him to talk to me and he did. He was up front. He admitted he had made mistakes. He said he wanted to help make sure others didn't make those same mistakes.
"I remember vividly asking him what advice he would have for college athletes," Fulton says. "And Jerry said that they just shouldn't talk to anybody, period."
In the book Rosen said gamblers believed that Graves was working a State-Auburn game on Jan. 7, 1961, at Auburn. If so, Graves didn't help them much unless they bet on State. Graves scored 24 points, hit all 12 of his free throws and State won.
Says Rosen, from his home in Accord, N.Y., "In many cases, the players were double-crossing the gamblers. That's not necessarily what happened in that case, but it happened a lot."
Again, the details have been clouded by more than 41 years, but the lessons are clear.
Jerry Graves was a splendid player, an outstanding and popular student, a nice person. Indeed, he was co-captain both his junior and senior seasons and "Mr. Mississippi State" his senior year. He has lived a productive life. Whatever mistakes he made, he more than paid for them when he wasn't allowed to pursue an NBA career.
The point is, if it happened to him, it could happen to anyone.
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0306/22/srick.html
SO, you think it can't happen at your school, right? Your heroes would never involve themselves with bookmakers. Your guys would never bet on games. Your guys would never give inside information to shady people in exchange for payoffs.
Your guys would never shave points, right?
Don't be so sure. It has happened all over the college sports world, including Mississippi.
There has been at least one documented case of an athlete's involvement with gamblers here, although details have been clouded by 41 years.
But this much is certain: It could happen again. Mississippi collegiate athletic officials say they are being proactive in guarding against gambling. That's good. They should be.
That's because today's high-dollar environment in collegiate athletics all but invites student-athletes to find a way to get their share.
Coaches make hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of dollars and often jump from one school or another to make more. The TV networks make money. The universities make money. The players? They get a scholarship — and, sadly, many of them know they will never graduate.
"Betting scandals are symptomatic of all that's wrong with college athletics today," says author Charley Rosen. "It's all about money. Everybody's making money but the athletes. Isn't it only natural some players want their share of the cake, too?"
Rosen has authored 11 books, including two that have detailed college basketball betting scandals. In The Wizard of Odds, Rosen details how, in the early 1960s, a former basketball player named Jack Molinas set up a network of college basketball players around the country who gave inside information to bookmakers and/or shaved points.
Former Mississippi State standout Jerry Graves, an All-Southeastern Conference center and one of the Bulldogs' greatest ever players, was one of those players detailed in the book. Graves' alleged involvement occurred in the 1960-61 season, a year when he led State to the SEC championship.
In the book, Rosen writes that gamblers considered Graves "a coup, because he was a bona fide All-American."
Graves, who has spent his adult life in education and now teaches in Lexington, Tenn., says his involvement in the well-publicized scandal was far overblown.
"It was like somebody would ask me if we were going to win, and I'd say, yes, sure, we're going to win," Graves said by telephone from his home.
Did he shave points?
"No," Graves says.
Did he accept money for information?
"Yes, I did," he says. "But it wasn't much. Today, it wouldn't be considered anything. Of course, if I had it to do again, I wouldn't take anything.
"I was all about winning," Graves says. "My objective was always to win."
Perhaps, but the NBA, after examining evidence that included an FBI investigation, banned Graves. From all accounts, Graves, who was drafted in the second round by Chicago, was good enough to have played — and played well — in the NBA.
Red Stroud, a teammate, remembers Graves "as a great player, a really good guy."
"I remember we found out about the whole thing after the season," Stroud, who lives near Forest, says. "We found out the FBI had been watching him and had been at our games. I don't know if he did what they said he did, but I do know he couldn't have done it much because he helped us win a lot of games."
Mississippi Sports Writers Hall of Famer Robert "Steamboat" Fulton, who now lives in San Francisco, covered many of those Mississippi State games. He remembers an interview with Graves a couple years later.
"Jerry was playing on a touring semi-pro team that came through Jackson," Fulton says. "I asked him to talk to me and he did. He was up front. He admitted he had made mistakes. He said he wanted to help make sure others didn't make those same mistakes.
"I remember vividly asking him what advice he would have for college athletes," Fulton says. "And Jerry said that they just shouldn't talk to anybody, period."
In the book Rosen said gamblers believed that Graves was working a State-Auburn game on Jan. 7, 1961, at Auburn. If so, Graves didn't help them much unless they bet on State. Graves scored 24 points, hit all 12 of his free throws and State won.
Says Rosen, from his home in Accord, N.Y., "In many cases, the players were double-crossing the gamblers. That's not necessarily what happened in that case, but it happened a lot."
Again, the details have been clouded by more than 41 years, but the lessons are clear.
Jerry Graves was a splendid player, an outstanding and popular student, a nice person. Indeed, he was co-captain both his junior and senior seasons and "Mr. Mississippi State" his senior year. He has lived a productive life. Whatever mistakes he made, he more than paid for them when he wasn't allowed to pursue an NBA career.
The point is, if it happened to him, it could happen to anyone.
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0306/22/srick.html
