Rory Gold

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This week two Detroit-area “Business” men were charged with paying and giving gifts to basketball and football players at the University of Toledo to take part in a point-shaving scheme, according to a federal indictment filed Wednesday.

Three former football players and three former basketball players also were accused of taking part in the alleged scheme by either affecting the outcomes in games or giving the two businessmen information to place wagers.

The FBI began investigating point shaving at Toledo four years ago. Manni and Karam bet about $407,000 on Toledo basketball games from November 2005 through December 2006, according to the indictment.

Previously, three former athletes had been linked to the scandal, including basketball player Sammy Villegas, who was charged last June with shaving points in games during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons.

For those of you not familiar with Point Shaving let me explain how it works.

Basically it’s a form of match fixing, it’s harder to detect because it doesn’t involve a team intentionally losing a game. The players involved are playing to ensure that their team does win by too many or if they are expected to lose ensuring that they lose by more than expected.

Sports with a point spread are the games the crooked gamblers will target, such as Basketball or Football. These games are the easiest to shave the score, next time you see an 85% free throw shooter have a 5-10 night from the line it makes you wonder whether he is just having an off night or if the fix is in. Is the running back for a poor team having trouble finding the holes in the line, he may be in on something bigger than just a game.

The masterminds behind the point shaving will have someone approach a player with an offer, much of the time it’s cash or if the player is in college, the offer of a good job when he leaves school. For players who aren’t allowed to earn much money while they are in college and they don’t have an NBA or NFL future these incentives can be very tempting.

It must be said that the incentive isn’t always a positive one for the player, the men behind the scheme may have found out some incriminating information about a player that the player would rather not be made public. If an unsavory character gave you the option of either missing a few free throws or have your parents or girlfriend find out about losing all your money at a whorehouse or your secret boyfriend, the choice becomes a little easier.

Schools try to combat the practice but with so many games and it only takes a few missed free throws to make the difference in the game it’s impossible for the NCAA to catch everyone. That is why those that are caught are made an example of. The player will be removed from school and face criminal charges, the schools hope the punishments given to those caught will deter those thinking about it but until student athletes are allowed to earn a reasonable income while on a scholarship kids will be tempted and often succumb to temptation.

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