Former Denver Nugget Michael Porter Jr. recently made headlines after his brother, Jontay, was banned from the NBA for life due to violating the NBA’s rules on gambling.
Without excusing his brother, MPJ voiced what everybody knows: Players will participate. The lure is too strong.
Gambling has taken over sports — it’s impossible to listen or watch a broadcast without being overwhelmed with gambling information, both from ads and the broadcasters and commentators themselves.
Entire segments of sports talk is devoted to analyzing the odds, and I haven’t even mentioned social media.
But the leagues believe that young men, whose brains are still being developed, will be able to resist the temptation?
Especially given that the temptations come in myriad forms in 2025.
These days betting is no longer throwing series a la Shoeless Joe Jackson’s Black Sox. You can place a wager on anything from who wins the tip off to how many minutes a player may play.
On top of this, the NBA will introduce live gambling this season!
How tempting would it be for a player to say his ankle his sore to get one more minute on the bench if that might win him big?
It’s important to remember that as much as the huge contracts make the headlines, most athletes across all of the professional leagues don’t make as much as we think they do. Many of them support their entire families with their income, which only lasts a few years anyway.
This was always going to be the result of legalized sports gambling. What confounds me is that the powers convinced themselves that insider trading wasn’t inevitable — or maybe they simply loved gambling money more.
Gambling is primed to be the next opioid epidemic. It is not only highly addictive, it is also legal and easy to access. With a phone in one’s pocket it’s like sitting at a casino table 24/7.
Gambling already disproportionately (negatively) impacts those less off. In a society that seems to privilege profit above all else, it’s only going to get worse.
Good for MPJ for speaking up.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
© IJN 2025
