So it appears that Major League Baseball wants a cut of the money that will be made gambling on their sport. Fair enough. That makes sense.
However, some are dubbing the .25 percent fee an "integrity fee".
What's integrity?
So The MLB will be selling "integrity"?
Will they also be selling unicorn horn powder, Easter Bunny droppings, and standing room only tickets for Chicago White Sox games.
All of those things have one thing in common... they don't freaking exist.
Did people already forget how little integrity the MLB has shown over the past several decades? After a completely idiotic work stoppage in 1994-1995 that lead to the cancellation of the World Series ("Hey how would you like to have your salary limited so owners can make more money off of your talent?"... "Um no.") baseball fell on hard times.
Predictably, many fans were turned off by the fact that billionaires were fighting with millionaires over the fans' money. As a result, ratings and attendance dipped.
Then something miraculous happened. In a sport where players had only hit 60 home runs in a season twice in about 120 years, players started doing it as a matter of routine.
Slammin' Sammy and Big Mac came along to take place in one of the most exciting races of all time. Each was chasing Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs in a season. Each surpassed it. Then they did it a combined 3 more times.
I understand how bicep curls will build your arms... but how do you increase the mass of your head like that?
Not satisfied by being overshadowed, Barry Bonds and his amazing expanding head decided to make a mockery of everything and smash 73 a few years later.
It was exciting and all, but there was one problem. They were all freaking cheating and everyone knew it.
For ten full years after the McGwire and Sosa mockery, the MLB did not enforce the ban on steroids put in place in 1991.
Integrity?
Now that steroids are finally frowned upon (kind of... A-Rod is your poster boy announcer? OK.) many believe The MLB "juiced" the baseballs last year.
Do I know for a fact that the balls were "juiced'?
No.
Do I believe it is possible?
Yes.
Do I believe it is even probable?
Hell yes!
Integrity?
This is a sport that is notorious for encouraging players to use barbiturates for many decades.
Gaylord Perry is a folk hero for cheating.
I guess he left his tool belt in the dugout.
Oh and the league still employs Angel Hernandez and Joe West as umpires.
Integrity?
MLB go ahead and charge a fee to bet on your games. You definitely deserve it. But please give it a more appropriate name like "slime ball greed fee" or something a little closer to the truth.