In a popular culture where athletes are viewed as “role models” and they are payed like CEOs of fortune 500 companies, there has to be some integrity in their work. There has to be something that reassures the “average joe” the amount of money paid for a ticket to a sporting event, generally part of the professional athlete’s compensation, is worth the investment. Between struggling to pay bills and going to a job they hate, “average joe” views going to a game as a special treat, a reward every now and then for working so hard. What happens when the event they paid to watch for its unpredictability actually had a pre-determined outcome? “Average joe” feels violated, betrayed and looses faith in the very sport that had become their refuge. They loose hope in the athletes who live at a standard they can only imagine and they quit supporting the sporting event. Why should the athlete care? If enough “average joes” quit supporting their sport, that little insignificant person in the stands can become the very one that holds the athlete’s destiny in their hands.

With the recent turn of events surrounding the N.B.A. and speculation of a referee throwing games for the sake of paying off gambling debts, the sport faces more than a challenge…their jobs are on the line! Referees are already under constant scrutiny from fans for controversial calls because there is already little trust in their ability to be non-biased. Athlete’s are also already under constant scrutiny, having to fight for their integrity in the eyes of public opinion. I’ve often heard people make the assumption that playoff games in the N.B.A. are sometimes “drawn out” to the maximum number of games in a series because of the financial impact it can have. It always sounded like an “old wives” tale when that little conspiracy theorist proclaimed “the game is fixed” to produce a certain outcome. In this instance, it seems like chicken little might have noticed the sky falling long before anyone believed. The boy that cried wolf really had a wolf to run from.

What is the N.B.A.’s biggest threat? Belief! If “average joe” quits believing in the game, they quit paying for the game. If they lose trust in the referees, they loose trust in the value of the dollar they used to scrape together to go to a game every now and then. When no one believes in the N.B.A anymore, the very game faces its biggest challenge ever…extinction. Can you imagine the reaction on a player’s face when they realize unemployment only pays a maximum of 300 dollars a week in some cases? That is their lunch money. As comical as it may seem, their jobs are on the line. If the acused referree begins to feel like a Canary and starts singing, it can only get worst. The implications for the sport are endless from this one gruesome discovery. Do we need to remind people of the damage Pete Rose caused the game of Baseball? Do we need to remind people of the damage steroids has caused the game of baseball? This is actually worst than that…when a player or a coach gambles, it is bad, but when a referre gambles, the sport looses all integrity and respect and every call becomes a debate.

The N.B.A. is in trouble. No shoe contract, no new stadium, no public service announcement or athlete building a community center can stop this downward spiral. If noboby believes in the sport anymore, it may very well have to change it’s name to the N.P.A. because when people quit believing, nobody pays anymore for the sport!