The Culture Of More

The three major sports leagues (the N.F.L., Major League Baseball, and the N.B.A.) are flush with controversy.

Michael Vick’s alleged involvement in the world of dog-fighting, Barry Bonds chasing Hank Aaron’s home run record amid even more allegations of steroid use, and N.B.A. referee Tim Donaghy’s point shaving scandal are all signs of the times. They are part of the culture of wanting more.

Obviously, I can only speculate on any of these individuals motives. However, it is clear that they wanted something more out of life, be it excitement, respect, recognition, or money, than what they had.

Why would Michael Vick, 26-year-old who has made millions as a player and from endorsements, immerse himself in a seedy, underground, barbaric environment fueled by high stakes gambling? What is so lacking in his life?

Why would Barry Bonds, who was already on track to be a first ballot hall of famer, even consider tarnishing his legacy?

For some reason they wanted more. Wanting more is nothing more than greed. Greed can be the most powerful emotion.

If you want to manipulate somebody, appeal to their greed. Bonds and Vick are examples of how greed, wanting more, is not always about money. Both have surrounded themselves with parasites who have manipulated them on some level by appealing to that greed. They have been manipulated but, at the end of the day, they are victims of only themselves.

Tim Donaghy is breathing different air than those two. Even though he was making close to $300,000 a year for, what amounts to a part time job, he was after the money. Reportedly, he had large gambling debts. It is also being reported that he was involved in the fixing of N.B.A. games and that these activities were tied to mobsters.

David Stern, the commissioner of the N.B.A. has said that this is an “isolated” case and called Donaghy a “rogue”. The media is covering the Donaghy case extensively but, I think, playing down the implications.

Donaghy, who has not been charged but is under F.B.I. investigation, has hired attorney John F. Lauro a man that a few in the press have described as known for representing “whistle blowers”. I was kind of curious about that so I looked up Lauro’s website. Here is a partial list of Lauro’s investigations or “resolved” (read settled, dropped, or plea-bargained) matters.

A high-ranking employee of national hospital chain with regard to investigation concerning the filing of hospital cost reports;

Employees of an insurance brokerage firm in a fraud investigation conducted by the New York Attorney General;

A hospital in connection with an alleged violation of a biohazardous waste statute;

The owner of psychiatric facilities throughout Florida in connection with federal anti-kickback investigation;

An executive employed by a national health care company under investigation for alleged kickback activities relating to physician contracts;

A circuit board manufacturer in connection with criminal environmental charges under the Clean Water Act brought by the Department of Justice;

A soil-remediation company with respect to alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act;

A key financial adviser of a publicly-traded company accused of securities and fraud violations;

The chief executive officer of a national education company in connection with alleged securities law violations;

A controller of publicly traded company accused of securities violations by the Securities and Exchange Commission;

A chief financial officer of a major hospital under investigation by the Department of Justice for alleged financial irregularities;

So, why would Lauro want to represent Donaghy? After all, the story is that Donaghy is having financial difficulty. Presumably, he would have trouble paying a lawyer of Lauro’s stature. If you look at the above list and connect the dots, the “whistle blower” idea holds water. Those all appear to be cases where somebody had dirt on somebody else. I’m reading between the lines here but there are a lot of State and Federal entities “resolving” things. So, maybe, Lauro knows that Donaghy has some information that has value; some dirt.

Think about this. To fix a game you have to have somebody on the inside. If you have a group of mobsters that are wanting to fix games and that group somehow appeals to an N.B.A. referee’s greed and manipulates it; do they stop there? If you can get a guy that is making 300 grand under your thumb, why couldn’t you get a referee working a Division 2 game in Ohio for a couple hundred bucks under that thumb even easier. Or, for that matter, an under funded college athlete.

I think that this group of mobsters is going to look for an insider anywhere there is money being wagered. If they got an N.B.A. referee, why not go after an N.F.L. official or a baseball umpire?
Lauro has stated that Donaghy will enter a plea and that implies that he has knowledge of others involved.

Bonds and Vick are evidence that stature and wealth do not provide immunity to greed; Donaghy is evidence that a position of authority is not sacred and big time sports is the culture of more.