When the Supreme Court ruled to overturn the federal ban on sports gambling, many knew the sports world was changed forever, for the better or for the worse.
While advocates of the Court’s ruling such as Mavs owner Mark Cuban see it as an opportunity for everyone involved to gain financially, others know the atrocities that lurk beneath the surface. Someone who has felt these first hand is now retired NBA player Metta World Peace.
A tough-nosed forward from Saint John’s University, World Peace recently sat down with Yahoo Sports to discuss his views on the recent legalization of sports gambling. World Peace acknowledges that sports gambling has been going on forever and with that comes the possible added pressure of those who have money riding on the results of the game.
In fact, Metta World Peace said he was actually offered a whopping $35,000 to throw an NCAA game, an offer he didn’t go through with despite giving it serious consideration. “One interesting time, they come to me in my neighborhood and say ‘Hey, I have $30,00 for you'” World Peace recalls. “I’m like, ‘All right, that’s cool, I’ll take $35,000.’ They said, ‘We need you to throw a game.’ That’s when I’m like, ‘You a–hole.’ But it crossed my mind — $35,000 to throw a game? Not bad.”
Though World Peace didn’t go through with his offer, there are plenty of collegiate athletes nationwide who would take that opportunity and that ties back into compromising the integrity of the game. This was already happening while gambling was illegal and now with it legalized, this will take place even more frequently, putting athletes in a tough spot and exploiting their talent.
Now with sports gambling up to each individual state, it’s important to be mindful that if it is indeed allowed, it should be regulated and monitored to some extent. You can watch the entirety of World Peace’s conversation with Yahoo Sports below.
.@MettaWorldPeace says he was offered $35,000 ? to fix games in college and because of that he’s not a fan of the new ruling to make sports betting legal. pic.twitter.com/G6FkMZg9fT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) May 16, 2018
