Part 8/11:
Adding insult to injury, the sports industry—including the NBA—has become increasingly intertwined with gambling. As scandals surface, such as the recent allegations of game-fixing involving NBA player Terry Rosier, the integrity of the sport itself is called into question. Meanwhile, the leagues bombard viewers with gambling promotions during games, blurring the lines between entertainment and betting.
Notably, ESPN’s own sports betting app has gone out of business—a historic moment that indicates the failure of betting-centric approaches that prioritize profit over sport integrity. How can fans trust analysis or reporting from a network actively promoting gambling when its own betting operations collapse?