A Strange Tale

Sometimes, you read a report and think there is something strange going on – – and then the story takes a turn into something even stranger.  Such seems to be the case involving Ryan Gold who is/was the Arizona Cardinals’ director of college scouting and who has been suspended by the NFL league office for violating the league rules on gambling.  According to the first report I read about this, the NFL carried out an investigation and concluded that Gold “provided confidential, non-public inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced” and that he had also “participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games.”  The report also said that in its investigation, the NFL examined pertinent “electronic records”.

First, I was surprised to learn that people were betting on who the Arizona Cardinals might or might not take with their various draft picks back in April.  [Aside:  Note, I assume that this “gambling violation” involved only the 2026 Draft and not previous Drafts.]  And then I noted that Gold has been with the Cardinals in various capacities for 13 years meaning he had to have been briefed on the nature and the scope of the Gambling Policy more than a couple of times.  Here is how the NFL characterizes its Gambling Policy:

“The Gambling Policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, strictly prohibits anyone in the NFL from participating in or facilitating any form of sports gambling, and from providing third parties non-public information.  Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected, the League takes any violation of the Gambling Policy with the utmost seriousness.”

We might quibble about the need for the NFL to prohibit “any form of sports gambling”; there seems to be a tenuous connection between “integrity of NFL games” and wagers on the World Cup contests or perhaps some action on a women’s college softball game.  But the rule is the rule and after 13 years working for a team in the NFL, you would think that would be “crystal clear”.  At this point in the story, I just figured that one of two things applied to Ryan Gold:

1. He really thought those rules did not apply to him  – – OR – –
2. He is so consumed by the rigors of scouting college football players that he is not aware of the world outside that realm.

And then the story got stranger …  Through his lawyer, Gold plans to appeal the suspension and proclaims his innocence.  There is nothing new about that but the basis for his declaration of innocence is that it was his wife – – not him – – who placed the parlay bets and that those bets were of the $10 magnitude and that they were done in conjunction with some of his wife’s high school friends.  I have to admit that I never saw that coming but even if that all turns out to be true, how might that explain the alleged provision of non-public information about Draft picks?

Next up in this story could well be a white rabbit proclaiming that he is late for an important date …

Moving on …  The wave of firings at ESPN creates openings/opportunities on the network.  The loss of Ryan Clark as a participant on First Take would seem to be something that needs to be considered.  My first thought was that it would be an opportunity to have a reunion or a rapprochement between Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless; that would create an interesting dynamic on the program.  But then I thought of an even better pairing with Stephen A. Smith, and it is someone who has a history with ESPN and who – – I believe – – is not encumbered by any current ties in the sports media business.

• Ryan Clark should be replaced on First Take by Jay Mariotti.

We have heard the Stephen A./Skip Bayless product before; maybe some folks have a degree of nostalgia for that; I don’t.  Mariotti would be a combative “opponent” for Stephen A. Smith – – and for Chris Russo too – – and the dynamic would be new/fresh.

You heard it here first…

Finally, this observation by Oscar Wilde:

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt towards people whom we personally dislike.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports ………