Anonymous NBA player poll: ‘They have to do something about gambling’
The Athletic’s poll was conducted before the Heat released Rozier and Jones pleaded guilty in the gambling cases, and before the league unveiled its latest anti-tanking measures. As always, we granted the players anonymity to give them the freedom to answer honestly, without fear of reprisals from opponents, teammates or fans. For transparency and context, we’ll tell you how many people responded to each topic.
An informal analysis of the answers to this question came down to the players collectively saying, “No, but…” “I don’t think we have an integrity issue,” one player said. “It’s almost like it’s the beginning of possible issues that could happen because of gambling. It’s getting more negative attention that could affect the purity of the game.
“The purists, we just want to play. ” "They have to do something with gambling,” one player said. “If they don't, the league is in trouble.
" “The gambling with social media is a dangerous combination — it has too much of an impact on the game," said another . A third player said, “We go out, and I can hear a fan say, ‘Please get 11 points,’ you know what I'm saying? I just feel like that's (messed) the game up a little bit.
” New York Times This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Anonymous NBA player poll: ‘They have to do something about gambling’