Is online gambling about to go the way of the manual typewriter?
Gregory Moore
October 08, 2006
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – It’s an election year and already one of the biggest issues that has many voters’ attention isn’t the scandal of Mark Foley and the congressional page who he instant messaged for a year and a half, but it is a bill in which the government is prepared to crack down on online gambling. But is this bill going to stop and industry that has millionaires out of a few but has continued to send people into bankruptcy faster than some bad real estate get quick rich schemes the answer to a problem that may not be a problem? That depends on which side of the fence are you on.
When it comes to online gambling, whether you are talking about online casinos or you are talking about offshore betting houses for sporting events, what must be addressed by Congress is why an industry has allowed certain programming to be it’s milk and butter during a weekend. That industry I am talking about is the radio industry and namely sports talk radio stations. On any given Saturday or Sunday morning, hundreds of local sports talk radio stations use them to hock their own shows that are strictly for the gambling public. When you have local and national programming being influenced by these shows, it will be hard for the legislature in Washington, D.C. to try to regulate a free press because that is where you have to start in regulating this industry.
But the legislators are not looking at this avenue because they don’t think that is the problem. America if you want to stop a problem like online gambling, you have to attack some sources that may not have been on your target radar. As unpleasant and un-American as it may seem, to tackle offshore betting, you have to do more than put into words a bill that regulates your home or business computer; you will have to literally make such programming like sports betting shows that are seen on television or heard on radio stations illegal because they fuel an illegal activity.
It can be a very precarious situation during an election year but that is the avenue the Congress may have to take if they are serious about eradicating online gambling in this country. But for now, this industry will continue to thrive and make money for some and bankrupt others. And sadly that includes probably a few people on Capitol Hill who are frequenters to these sites as well.
THE MEDIA NEEDS TO LOOK AT ATHLETES AND MENTAL HEALTH
When it comes to collegiate and professional athletes, many fans and sports writers simply do not understand that many of these players may be going through some mental issues of their own. In this society we treat these gladiators and warriors of sporting events as if they are gods and think that they are invincible. There are many student athletes who have depression and face it while playing sports. According to many experts female athletes are more prone to have a mental health issue than males. Yet all can agree that, as the stakes get higher for both genders, the mental health issues also increase in severity.
Let’s keep this topic strictly to the professional male athlete. If I had to ask you to name a professional athlete that you know of that had a mental health issue, whom could you name? For me it’s Barrett Robinson. Now maybe that’s because I remember the former Oakland Raiders’ center going to Mexico at the height of his career and then do a crash and burn that even landed him here in the Alamo City. And then when I start thinking about professional athletes, I invariably look to the NFL because I am looking at one of the most ‘violent’ sports that we watch nationwide. If there was probably a group of athletes who may succumb to mental illness, it’s an NFL player and in lieu of the Terrell Owens situation, I am wondering just what kind of health coverage the current players and retired players have in their respective packages.
It’s unfathomable for me to think that a professional football player can be a happy go lucky guy and that he is just happy to be playing. While that is a naive way of perceiving things, I’d have to accept the fact that when it comes to these gladiators, they have a health benefits plan that covers such issues. For the current players in the league, they may have access to health benefits that include mental health issues and treatments. Many teams bring in sports psychologists and psychiatrists to monitor the team’s overall health. Often times when things like the Owens saga do go south, there is a team psychologist on staff and waiting to help the patient and family in the crisis. But is this a common practice throughout the league? Is this something that the NFLPA has consistently asked for in the collective bargaining meetings that they have had over the years? And if it is, just what are the NFLPA’s stances on such issues like mental breakdown due to stress on the job or even such a drastic step as suicide?
If those answers may seem hard to come by then just imagine what they may be for the retired players right now. One of the concerns this writer continuously has is that of those players who are no longer in the league. As much as I have written about their physical ailments, I think their mental ailments are just as important if not more. If the NFLPA had any structured medical plan for these former players, did it offer mental health services for those who may have needed it then, today or in the future? Can these retired players get a quality of mental health care that helps them live with the trials and tribulations of a normal life after playing football? And what of some players who may not be as fortunate as others. Just what kind of benefits, insurance coverage or assistance is truly out there for this group of former players?
These questions need to be asked because as we have seen in just a few days, mental health is indeed a tremendous part of the sports that we love to watch. And while I did single out just a small part of the population, let it not be misconstrued that professionals have a lot more mental health issues than the amateur athletes at the high school and collegiate levels. Today’s sports world is a lot more complex and there are a lot more stresses on these athletes than maybe even a decade ago. For the sake of these athletes, more work needs to be done to ensure that they are mentally sharp as well as physically capable.
When it comes to online gambling, whether you are talking about online casinos or you are talking about offshore betting houses for sporting events, what must be addressed by Congress is why an industry has allowed certain programming to be it’s milk and butter during a weekend. That industry I am talking about is the radio industry and namely sports talk radio stations. On any given Saturday or Sunday morning, hundreds of local sports talk radio stations use them to hock their own shows that are strictly for the gambling public. When you have local and national programming being influenced by these shows, it will be hard for the legislature in Washington, D.C. to try to regulate a free press because that is where you have to start in regulating this industry.
But the legislators are not looking at this avenue because they don’t think that is the problem. America if you want to stop a problem like online gambling, you have to attack some sources that may not have been on your target radar. As unpleasant and un-American as it may seem, to tackle offshore betting, you have to do more than put into words a bill that regulates your home or business computer; you will have to literally make such programming like sports betting shows that are seen on television or heard on radio stations illegal because they fuel an illegal activity.
It can be a very precarious situation during an election year but that is the avenue the Congress may have to take if they are serious about eradicating online gambling in this country. But for now, this industry will continue to thrive and make money for some and bankrupt others. And sadly that includes probably a few people on Capitol Hill who are frequenters to these sites as well.
THE MEDIA NEEDS TO LOOK AT ATHLETES AND MENTAL HEALTH
When it comes to collegiate and professional athletes, many fans and sports writers simply do not understand that many of these players may be going through some mental issues of their own. In this society we treat these gladiators and warriors of sporting events as if they are gods and think that they are invincible. There are many student athletes who have depression and face it while playing sports. According to many experts female athletes are more prone to have a mental health issue than males. Yet all can agree that, as the stakes get higher for both genders, the mental health issues also increase in severity.
Let’s keep this topic strictly to the professional male athlete. If I had to ask you to name a professional athlete that you know of that had a mental health issue, whom could you name? For me it’s Barrett Robinson. Now maybe that’s because I remember the former Oakland Raiders’ center going to Mexico at the height of his career and then do a crash and burn that even landed him here in the Alamo City. And then when I start thinking about professional athletes, I invariably look to the NFL because I am looking at one of the most ‘violent’ sports that we watch nationwide. If there was probably a group of athletes who may succumb to mental illness, it’s an NFL player and in lieu of the Terrell Owens situation, I am wondering just what kind of health coverage the current players and retired players have in their respective packages.
It’s unfathomable for me to think that a professional football player can be a happy go lucky guy and that he is just happy to be playing. While that is a naive way of perceiving things, I’d have to accept the fact that when it comes to these gladiators, they have a health benefits plan that covers such issues. For the current players in the league, they may have access to health benefits that include mental health issues and treatments. Many teams bring in sports psychologists and psychiatrists to monitor the team’s overall health. Often times when things like the Owens saga do go south, there is a team psychologist on staff and waiting to help the patient and family in the crisis. But is this a common practice throughout the league? Is this something that the NFLPA has consistently asked for in the collective bargaining meetings that they have had over the years? And if it is, just what are the NFLPA’s stances on such issues like mental breakdown due to stress on the job or even such a drastic step as suicide?
If those answers may seem hard to come by then just imagine what they may be for the retired players right now. One of the concerns this writer continuously has is that of those players who are no longer in the league. As much as I have written about their physical ailments, I think their mental ailments are just as important if not more. If the NFLPA had any structured medical plan for these former players, did it offer mental health services for those who may have needed it then, today or in the future? Can these retired players get a quality of mental health care that helps them live with the trials and tribulations of a normal life after playing football? And what of some players who may not be as fortunate as others. Just what kind of benefits, insurance coverage or assistance is truly out there for this group of former players?
These questions need to be asked because as we have seen in just a few days, mental health is indeed a tremendous part of the sports that we love to watch. And while I did single out just a small part of the population, let it not be misconstrued that professionals have a lot more mental health issues than the amateur athletes at the high school and collegiate levels. Today’s sports world is a lot more complex and there are a lot more stresses on these athletes than maybe even a decade ago. For the sake of these athletes, more work needs to be done to ensure that they are mentally sharp as well as physically capable.
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