9 hours ago
(Today, 09:51 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: With the penalty for players being a one year suspension for gambling on NFL games and two years if they gamble on their own team's games, the idea that the NFL officials are gambling on games just seems a little bit 'tin foil hattish' for me.
You are speaking about "penalty for players," not for officials, and yet conclude on that basis of penalties for players that officials would not risk being associated with gambling. The reality is officials are only part-time and have another full-time job that is their main income source (some own businesses, are accountants, high school teachers, own farms, are bankers, dentists, etc.). A player has everything to lose, including their main income source, loss of money from commercials, and high-profile awareness of their crime. For an official, the benefit/risk is very different.
In addition to a greater risk of officials being influenced in their calls because of gambling -- either directly or because they know their family or friends or colleagues are gambling on the game -- the fact that they are part-time means they also are subject more to pressures to be biased in their calls. Their friends, family, colleagues and their own favorite teams enter into the mix, because this is only their part-time job.
