A Good Sports Bet Is Harder to Find

If I had a million bucks, or five, or 10, what would I do with it?

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily buy mink-lined underwear, but I’d probably stop buying clothes off the rack, or at least start acquainting myself with salespeople who have better racks.

I’d be able to afford to buy toothpaste with fluoride instead of the kind without. I’d be able to afford gasoline at today’s prices and drive dozens of blocks farther each day. I’d be able to afford wine that doesn’t come with a twist-off cap.

I wouldn’t rent automobiles anymore at Budget; I’d rent them at Big Budget. I would buy some of those tennis shoes with the pumps and transform myself from 5-foot-11 to around 6-2. I’d join one of those country clubs that would be offended to have some of my friends for members.

And, I’d probably gamble.

If I could truly afford it, much of my spare time might be spent betting thousands of dollars at Santa Anita on fourth-place horses, or losing gracefully in Las Vegas at high-stakes blackjack, or dropping bundles in Atlantic City betting on the Phoenix Suns to win the NBA championship.

Gambling can be big fun--and, as we all know, there are places where it is perfectly legal.

The question is: Who should gamble and who shouldn’t?

After all, gambling can be addictive, and can create financial and emotional chaos, and can turn an otherwise normal person, if he or she isn’t careful, into someone with dice for eyes. Professional athletes must face situations where they wonder what to do with all their dough. Making purchases and investments is one thing, and making charity donations is another, but what can they do with their money for a good time?

In the last few months alone, look at what has happened:

--Pete Rose has fallen from grace, succumbing to a now-acknowledged gambling problem that might have influenced the other fiscal wrongdoings that led to his being incarcerated Wednesday at an Illinois federal prison camp.

--Art Schlichter, a richly promising future as an NFL quarterback destroyed by a gambling habit that put his very life in danger, is back playing football for an indoor team in Detroit, still trying to be forgiven and not forgotten.

--Isiah Thomas, no more than a day or two after being hailed as the most valuable player of Detroit’s second NBA championship effort, was publicly linked with gambling in the form of high-stakes dice games allegedly held in his home. Thomas denied everything, including a report that his closest friend on the team was the one who tipped the FBI.

--And now Dave Winfield, who already has gone through a painful period of backaches and headaches, finds himself accused--falsely, he swears--by a reliable publication, using unreliable-sounding sources, of gambling heavily on sports. Poor David: The minute he finally gets George Steinbrenner out of his hair, this comes up.

Is it a coincidence that popular and well-paid athletes are being discovered associating, or being accused of associating, with bookies and sharpies and gamblers? Are jocks constantly fending off these characters, or being tempted to apply their inside knowledge of a sport to the pursuit of further capital gain?

Maybe.

Or maybe they simply don’t know many better ways to enjoy their money.

Some of these people have neither the time nor the energy to take exotic vacations. They already own expensive homes, cars and boats. Their kids’ college funds are all set, and dozens of needy charities already have been addressed. There seem few days too rainy for which to save.

Gambling must seem relatively harmless to them.

Look at Charles Barkley of the Philadelphia 76ers and Mark Jackson of the New York Knicks, making that bet on who would sink the winning shot in a basketball game between their teams. They didn’t see any harm in it. It took others to point out to them that even the most innocent wagering can be misconstrued, particularly if one of the principals ends up behaving in an unusual manner at any point during a particular contest.

There is a very wealthy big league pitcher who has been known to pop over to Atlantic City and lay $5,000 on a single hand of baccarat. The money is of little importance to him, and he is extremely generous to his family and to good causes.

Would the commissioner of baseball nevertheless frown on such activity? Would it be anybody’s business if this individual happened to be dropping tens of thousands at the tables?

It takes us back to Pete Rose again. I still think few people cared that Pete was betting. They just didn’t want him betting on baseball.

Dave Winfield doesn’t even stand accused of betting on baseball. Some anonymous person said that he overheard Winfield discussing bets on other sports.

So what?

I mean, Dave says he didn’t bet on anything, so I’ll take his word for it. But if the man was not betting on baseball, and if he is not at odds with the Internal Revenue Service, then what’s the difference? Who cares? Let it be. Let him bet.