Yep. That’s exactly what we’re talking about: tanking.
Informal – North American: verb: (in sports) to deliberately lose or fail to finish (a game).
The often-hidden-under-the-rug strategy was recently brought to light once again. Due to accusations made by former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian A, a lawsuit has been brought up against the NFL.
While the lawsuit primarily focused on clear racial inequalities in the NFL, A also claimed that Dolphins owner, Stephen Ross, attempted to bribe A into “tanking” games.
The suit claims that Ross offered Flores an additional $100,000 per loss. Flores stated that he rejected the offer, and that’s what started the rift between the two, which eventually led to Flores’ termination.
It’ nasiums more common as compared to it should be
Past Browns Head Coach Hue Jackson took to Twitter in the days following these allegations and claimed he had once found himself in a similar position.
He believed that team owner Jimmy Haslam “was pleased when we kept losing” and was offering “a good number” to lose games.
The executive director of the Hue Jackson Foundation, Kimberly Diemert, backs this claim, tweeting “We have records that can support your case. DM me. @NFL and @nflcommish knew about this and covered it up.”
The intentional tanking of games would certainly tarnish the league’s already questionable reputation. However, there’s a crucial aspect regarding the Stephen Ross/Brian Flores situation that seems to be often overlooked. In 2019, Ross invested over $17 million into a sports betting analysis site called Motion Network. This investment occurred on the same day he was allegedly attempting to bribe Flores.
These investment and tanking allegations shed light on a potentially dangerous relationship between tanking teams and sports betting.
How it changes teams of which tank?
Nothing at all. Well, at least in the NFL, nothing happens.
Tanking isn’t just a problem in the NFL, but they’re the only major sports league appearing to ignore it entirely. The MLB is currently in a lockout at the moment, with one of the main points of contention being anti-tanking regulations.
The NBA implemented the draft lottery so that even the worst team in the league doesn’t have the #1 overall draft pick—it’s left to chance.
However, the NFL has done nothing to address tanking, and the effects are starting to show. This becomes especially concerning when the owners accused of promoting tanking have ties to the sports betting community.
While Motion Network does not take bets, they are one step removed—they provide picks, analysis, and offer promotional codes to guests. But where there is smoke, there is often fire, so this is not a good look for the NFL. It also doesn’t reflect well on the Miami Dolphins.
What you can do about tanking in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE?
Tanking needs to be addressed at this moment more than ever before, especially with the expansion of legalized sports betting. Having bettors placing wagers on a team that has already decided to throw the game could lead to a very sticky moral, or even legal, situation.
If the NFL wants to tackle tanking head-on, they have a few options. They can implement a similar draft lottery system, like the NBA, or they could hire an external organization to investigate teams that are alleged of tanking.
They could also require written explanations from coaches and coordinators who make changes that may appear suspicious.
But this, like most issues with the NFL, will likely be swept under the rug and left to address later. All I know is that if the NFL doesn’t do something about this now, a major scandal will break out—it’s just a matter of time.
