A major sports betting scandal has rocked the NCAA. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that 26 people have been charged in a bribery and point-shaving scheme motivated by the biggest nemesis of American sports: gambling.

The DOJ reports that game fixers bribed college basketball players on several teams to underperform so that they could bet accordingly. The criminals in question first tested their racket in China before exporting it to the U.S.

But this shouldn’t surprise us. When sports gambling soared in popularity and enmeshed itself into every professional sports association, some warned that corruption of the sports Americans so dearly love was inevitable.

We’ve seen it before in America’s pastime, when the 1919 World Series saw eight White Sox players throw the game for the Cincinnati Reds to win big on bets. But you don’t need to go so far back in America’s history to see other examples.

Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers in the MLB were indicted last year for similar allegations. The NBA had a similar scandal as well.

History — both distant and recent — tells us that gambling corrupts sports. Period.

So when online gambling, accelerated by smartphones, became ubiquitous, some warned that sports would inevitably be corrupted. Those warnings were ignored, but it has already begun, faster than even some critics expected. 

What can be done?

Well, Americans and American lawmakers have a habit of avoiding the obvious but difficult choice on other issues: Ban abortion. Stop borrowing money. Close the border, etc.

So setting aside the obvious answer of simple prohibition, what else is being considered?

Prop bets are in the crosshairs. Prop bets allow gamblers to place bets on minuscule aspects of the game, going well beyond who will win or lose to include the coin toss, individual players’ stats, or even the color of the Gatorade. A bit much, no?

Several states are considering bans of this kind, but many have not yet gotten those laws across the finish line. But pressure is mounting. In fact, the NCAA renewed their call for a ban on prop bets on Thursday in a statement from organization President Charlie Baker:

“One issue that deeply troubles the NCAA is betting markets centering around many aspects of a student-athlete’s individual athletic performance, otherwise known as player prop bets. While these types of bets are prohibited in some states with legalized sports betting, they are still offered in a majority of jurisdictions. The NCAA national office regularly hears concerns from schools and student-athletes across the country on the impacts of sports betting. Those schools and student-athletes cite issues surrounding player prop bets, including instances of harassment, competition integrity and other well-being concerns.”

The concern is warranted. The scope of these schemes is staggering. According to the DOJ, dozens of players received hundreds of thousands of dollars in what U.S. Attorney David Metcalf called a “massive scheme.” 

“The stakes here are far higher than anything on a bet slip. The criminal charges we have filed allege the criminal corruption of collegiate athletics through an international conspiracy of NCAA players, alumni, and professional bettors,” Metcalf said. “It’s also yet another blow to public confidence in the integrity of sport, which rests on the fundamental principles of fairness, honesty, and respect for the rules of competition.”

The U.S. attorney is right. The stakes are higher than enjoyment of the game. Men and women learn hard work, teamwork, integrity, and discipline from sports. God forbid sports become a symbol of corruption.

NCAA’s beloved March Madness is not just good for the NCAA or the colleges that participate. It’s good for American culture, a unifying month of family-friendly entertainment centered around athleticism and excellence and greatness. Americans can do much worse. But will it recover in our generation? 

President Trump is expected to attend the NCAA championship football game on January 19 between Indiana and Miami, but the game is overshadowed by the specter of corruption of dozens of players in NCAA basketball.

But that corruption is only possible because of average Americans wasting their money and time funding a gambling apparatus that is tainting the sport they love so much and swindling them of their hard-earned money.

So, enjoy the game Monday, but I don’t recommend placing a bet. 

Things may not be what they appear… 

By the way, I covered at length the moral problems and social cost of gambling on the Outstanding podcast here.