NBA arrests: A clear day is not needed to see truth

In the days prior to news breaking about arrests being made concerning a National Basketball Association (NBA) cheating scandal, an interesting study was published by Oxford University’s Public Opinion Quarterly. Titled “To Report or Not to Report? A Qualitative Analysis of Journalists’ Perspectives on Harm to Public Opinion,” its abstract noted this:

Journalists face intricate decisions regarding what to publish, especially when problematic content may impact public opinion in a way that could fuel hate and/or undermine democratic attitudes.

Standing out in the study is the finding that “journalists who do not publish problematic content do so because they expect to negatively impact public opinion, in particular democratic attitudes, and that their reporting of hate speech may not meet ethical standards.” It is clear that sports analyst and television personality Stephen A. Smith was oblivious to this finding based on his analysis concerning the motivation behind the NBA corruption arrests.

The arrests indicate more than two dozen people across eleven states were involved, including players (both current and former), coaches, and members of the mafia (three of the five New York City families), in what prosecutors call “One of the most brazen sports corruption schemes.” Basketball legend LeBron James even got wrapped up in the scandal.

The arrests were all “part of a sweeping FBI investigation into illegal sports betting and allegedly rigged, mafia-linked poker games.” At least seven games, occurring between March 2023 and March 2024, are at the center of the investigation, but the corruption is believed to go back as far as 2019.

In the wake of one of the most sweeping sports corruption investigations in American history, revealing massive evidence of wrongdoing and with the arrests making headlines, Smith made an outrageous statement, tossing aside any effort to be ethical ranting about how Trump was totally out for revenge:

‘I’m watching a press conference with the director of the FBI. Tell me when we’ve seen that,’ he said. ‘We’ve seen accusations before. We’ve seen athletes get in trouble with the law before. You don’t see the director of the FBI having a press conference. It’s not coincidental. It’s not an accident. It’s a statement, and it’s a warning that more is coming.’

He added: ‘In his eyes, folks tried to throw [Trump] in jail. In his eyes, he’s innocent and ‘they’re trying to put me behind bars. I’m getting everybody.’ He’s not playing.’

Wrapping up his remarks, Smith issued an ominous warning: ‘This is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s very concerning. We don’t know where this is gonna go. But everybody better brace themselves, because he’s coming.’

Of course Smith’s claim lacked an all important fact: the investigation he described as a Trump revenge initiative was launched even before he was elected president for a second term. It was not Trump’s, but Joe Biden’s FBI that initiated it. Accordingly, FBI Director Kash Patel said of Smith’s nonsense that it was “the single dumbest thing that I have ever heard out of anyone in modern history, and I have lived most of my time in Washington, D.C.”

Apparently, Smith, blinded by what Patel described as “mind-boggling” fraud that generated tens of millions of dollars for those arrested, is only capable of harping on revenge by Trump as the motivation for the arrests.

Smith seems somewhat confused in trying to inject political commentary into his sports analysis. Earlier he had criticized Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Tex) for her incendiary politics in constantly denigrating Trump. But then, as if zapped by a progressive wand, he reversed himself. He posted an apology to his “sister” Crockett for calling out her performative politics, claiming his comments had “been misconstrued and misinterpreted” by critics.

Although in his Crockett comments Smith proclaimed “I have no problem apologizing if I’m wrong,” as if to assure audiences he is fair-minded, no apology has yet been forthcoming concerning his Trump revenge claim.

Journalist Jemele Hill raises a concern she has in the wake of the NBA arrests. She notes that media organizations’ ties with sports betting companies are increasing. She believes, and rightly so, that this creates an ethical issue as to how these media outlets, profiting from partnerships with betting companies, can be objective in covering such scandals.

As another critic of the sports scandal points out, it undermines credibility as now, with “Every substitution, every timeout, every missed free throw, and every foul or penalty called,” fans will wonder about the decision-maker’s motivation.

It would be interesting to get Smith’s input on these concerns.

Sadly, Smith fails to recognize the weather requirement mandated in the adage “On a clear day, you can see forever” is unnecessary to see truth—all that is needed is integrity.

Image: Public domain.