In 1991, NBA commissioner David Stern ran down to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington to deliver a message to the forces of legalized, government-sponsored gambling: Keep your stinkin’ hands off our game!
In 1992, Stern ran down to Trenton to deliver the same message to the N.J. State Assembly, which was being urged to legalize more forms of gambling, including gambling on NBA games.
“The issue here,” Stern told legislators, “is whether the state should lend its seal to teaching kids about gambling and turning them into gamblers. You don’t legalize something just because there’s illegal activity.”
Today, with Stern still at the NBA’s wheel, the seal that has been lent to New Jersey Lottery tickets is the seal of the NBA. The only logo larger than the NBA’s to appear on these lottery tickets are the logos of NBA teams. And NBA team logos dominate the view; they serve as the primary come-on.
In a cross-promotional sellout of staggering proportion, the NBA is now a contracted co-sponsor of gambling. The bet, although not on NBA games, is directly, unmistakably attached to the NBA.
So much for Stern’s soulful, principled caveat about teaching kids about gambling.
“We see it much differently,” an NBA spokesperson said this week. “Our concern is that there’s no [further legalized] betting on NBA games. That’s our concern and our policy.”
That’s right, folks, don’t bet on NBA games. But when you do bet, think of the NBA and its teams. Think of the NBA as synonymous with the N.J. State Lottery, as synonymous with gambling – except on NBA games.
So remember, kids, and adults of all ages: Do as the NBA and the N.J. Lottery would have you do. Don’t bet on NBA games. Bet because of them.