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Another Day, Another Dollar
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"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
 

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You know what drives me nuts about this is that people really get so offended by all this. Think about it, back when the big scandal that got aired, the Arizona State scandal, did it really bother anyone or did anyone care about them shaving points? I mean really, are we to assume that every game every guy is going out there giving 100% for a good game??? Come on that is BULLS***!!! Some nights the star player could be mad at the coach and play less than 100% because of it. How about if the guy is trying to get into the NBA and stops playing a team game, possibly costing his team games? Does this make the NCAA worried? Hell no, they never say anything about it. So if a guy is working with gamblers once here or there I am not going to say its good for the game, but frankly guys are having bad nights all the time and whether its because he did it on purpose or did it to get some cash it really doesn't matter in the end. After all its just a game to most spectators and as long as we never hear about it, and I doubt more than 1 or 2% of all gambling scandals ever get out, we should spend our energy worrying about other things. As this article and all common sense points out, with the ease of wagering these days and the millions of dollars that everyone is making except the kids, this stuff is 100% inevitable. There will be more incidents and no matter what the NCAA thinks there is nothing anyone can do about it so everyone should just stop sweating the situation so much and try to enjoy the game, with a side wager or not is your business not theirs. Telling Nevada or anyone else that they are responsible for this is pure hypocrisy.
 

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