NFL enlists Christian right to fight Barney Frank

[TheEngineer]

Another article, at www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/15/nfl_focus_on_family/


NFL enlists Christian soldiers in anti-gambling fight
God, football and the point spread
By Burke Hansen in San Francisco

The behind-the-scenes putsch that forced the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) through a skeptical Congress last year saw a little sunshine this week. Witness the news that the National Football League has teamed up with James Dobson's Focus on the Family and other right-wing Christians to head off efforts to liberalize and regulate the online gambling industry.

The NFL has brought in some big guns to make sure that Congressman Barney Frank's attempt to repeal the law and regulate the troublesome industry never gets out of committee, according to the Financial Times. Former Senate Majority leader Bill Frist attached the controversial UIGEA in the middle of the night to an unrelated port security bill, and one of his top advisors, Bill Wichterman, is now lobbying on behalf of the NFL to uphold the UIGEA.

As the Finanancial Times noted, an email obtained from Wichterman "encouraged conservative groups to co-sign a letter to Congress that ostensibly was written by Focus on the Family. 'The threat posed by the Frank legislation is very real, and we must actively work against it,' Wichterman wrote."

The letter encourages anti-gambling Christians to take up the fight against Frank's legislation.

The Christian Coalition, among others, signed the letter, which urges members of Congress to protect the integrity - whatever that means - of the UIGEA, and warned lawmakers to be on the watch for "misinformation campaigns [by] foreign gambling interests".

Whether "foreign gambling interests" refers to Antigua and the WTO or not, the NFL clearly does not believe that the opt-out provisions for sports organizations in Frank's legislation are sufficient to protect the integrity of the game. One would think that the huge black market for sports betting in the United States would be even more of a threat, but for those morally opposed to gambling, practical social policy is irrelevant. Gambling bad. Jesus good.

Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest gambling day of the year, with billions wagered on the event annually, and gambling point spreads are routinely tossed around on pre-game events. The NFL also directly participates in fantasy football leagues, which were specifically exempted by the UIGEA. If anything, sports wagering seems to be a real boost to the league's popularity.

So what's the big deal? Leagues in the UK, where legalized gambling on sporting events is prevalent, seem to do just fine, and in the public mind, doping seems to be a bigger concern - at least as far as integrity goes. There is no perfect system, as recent NBA developments make clear, but regulation if anything seems preferable - after all, NBA referee Tim Donaghy got into trouble with underground bookies. In Las Vegas, where everything is legal and closely scrutinized, point shaving is nearly impossible.

"Whispers would have happened on the street, and we would have heard something," Jay Kornegay, executive director of the sports book at the Las Vegas Hilton, said to ESPN, when asked about the scandal last month. "Any type of suspicious or unusual movements, you usually hear in the industry. We're so regulated and policed, any kind of suspicion would be discussed."

[frommagio]

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I understand why a sports league wouldn't want gambling, but then how does Vegas exist? Haven't we already crossed the line here?

Your right and I am sure ESPN has a vested interest to. How much of their audience is due to pools/gambling.

To me, MNF is usually the game that decides the office pools (other than the 20% that are home team or a key matchup with huge playoff implications). I like football and all, but not stay up til 1:00AM and get 5 hours of sleep before work for the sake of the game.

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It would have been so useful to have the PPA involved in this and easily find 10k people who had bought Sunday Ticket last year to call in and cancel/demand a backdown on an opposition to poker. The demographics have shfited and MOST people gamble in some way or another, just the holier than thou, isolated, rich douches who run things haven't noticed.
I think even 1k people calling in cancelling SUnday Ticket would havecaused a backpedal.

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Thank you for not referring to our opponents as ChristaNazis or fascists; this represents a great improvement in your forum contributions during the past few days. Although "holier than thou, isolated, rich douches" might seem to be a bit out of line, I do understand that even this required considerable self-restraint on your part. Some of us (including myself) appreciate that you are making a sincere effort to improve.

[PLO8FaceKilla]

Ok i just printed out a letter, added a little personal stuff and i'm mailing it to Roger Goodell on Monday.

It only takes 10 MINUTES!
THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO DO THIS.

Everyone should send them a letter.

[Wetdog]

Maybe we should all buy our NFL logo goods FROM ANTIGUA!

[Mondogarage]

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Maybe we should all write to the NFL and some of their to express our displeasure. I'm not suggesting poker players boycott football and beer, but I think we could tell them we'll keep this in mind when deciding what to buy and what to watch.

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If you're not prepared to, in fact, boycott the NFL and everything related to it (NFL highlights shows, NFL coverage, NFL advertisers, etc.), then the NFL has no reason to take any of your complaints seriously.

[Legislurker]

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Maybe we should all buy our NFL logo goods FROM ANTIGUA!

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Maybe WSEX could rebroadcast all NFL games live to its members?

[Legislurker]

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Maybe we should all write to the NFL and some of their to express our displeasure. I'm not suggesting poker players boycott football and beer, but I think we could tell them we'll keep this in mind when deciding what to buy and what to watch.

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If you're not prepared to, in fact, boycott the NFL and everything related to it (NFL highlights shows, NFL coverage, NFL advertisers, etc.), then the NFL has no reason to take any of your complaints seriously.

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I think boycotts could be effective, but it would take the PPA. It would take the PPA having a sack. You need orgainzers and some way to get the word out. I personally think a lottery boycott, if we got friends and family on board, would be better. Second best, boycott Harrah's. Then the NFL and major sports leagues. But that takes too large a list of names, employees , and money to do by ourselves.

[TheEngineer]

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Maybe we should all write to the NFL and some of their to express our displeasure. I'm not suggesting poker players boycott football and beer, but I think we could tell them we'll keep this in mind when deciding what to buy and what to watch.

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If you're not prepared to, in fact, boycott the NFL and everything related to it (NFL highlights shows, NFL coverage, NFL advertisers, etc.), then the NFL has no reason to take any of your complaints seriously.

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Do you have proof of that? Why don't you think they'll care if we significantly reduce our patronage of the league and their products?

My concern with claiming a total boycott is that it won't be believable. However, if we state we're not buying jerseys or any of their cable/satellite packages, we'll be in the realm of the doable.

However, if you're going to totally boycott them, you should write and tell them so.

Goodall's email address is goodellr@nfl.com .

[oldbookguy]

Engineer, you never cease to amaze me, the direct e-mail to the commish.....

OK, should we organize a e-mail campaign aimed at him?

obg

[TheEngineer]

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Engineer, you never cease to amaze me, the direct e-mail to the commish.....

OK, should we organize a e-mail campaign aimed at him?

obg

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Thanks. I got it from a site on the 'net, so I can't be certain yet if it's legit. I'll post if I receive a response.

I think we should all write (email and snail mail). Let them know opposing us isn't free.