When good people are bought and sold, what does it take? Does ethical behavior “care” about an industry in order for a person to be tempted to commit fraud? For example, is a nurse less prone to committing fraud than, let’s say, a car mechanic or professional athlete? My experience tells me it doesn’t matter one bit. Given an opportunity, a need and the ability to rationalize, those raised without an ethical sense or not taught ethical behavior, can be bought and sold if the price is right.
As a case in point, I want to explore this topic in terms of professional tennis. We normally think of tennis as a “Gentleman’s and Ladies’ Sport,” above reproach. Think again. In Spain, the police have just arrested 15 people connected to a gambling ring connected to tennis.
Spanish officials have arrested 15 people in a tennis match-fixing scheme. The individuals were connected to a ring with origins in Armenia. However, many others were involved lured by the promise of easy money.
Of the tennis matches themselves, incredibly 28 professional players were involved. It has been reported that one of those athletes participated in the 2017 U.S. Open. The total number of participants in the scheme was more than 80.
Contrary to what we may believe, tennis is a sport that is relatively easy to fix. The European Sports Security Association ranks tennis as the sport most associated with illegal gambling. In the hands of a professional influenced by a gambler associated with organized crime, it is not difficult to imagine an intentionally missed backhand or double-fault on the part of one player or both.sports
The Link – When Good People are Bought and Sold
The police raided the homes of the prime 15 gamblers and found what we might expect: luxury cars, cash, guns, credit cards and such. In situations where fraudsters are intent on capitalizing on a situation, they always appear to be at the top of the pyramid. The prime gamblers may face jail time and certainly fines, but they are not the ones who will be shamed with a loss of reputation. It will be the athletes who allowed themselves to be tempted.
However, gamblers cannot operate alone. They must carefully groom an intermediary who usually knows the players and they know the correct lingo to use to entice the athletes. This case of fraud is not unique. Throughout history, intermediaries working on behalf of gamblers and mobsters. For the most part, the gamblers will try to influence high-ranking amateur or lower-level professionals.
The intermediaries who approach the lower-level professionals can make an unethically compelling argument that they might as well make some money in the sport because they probably won’t make it to big money stage. It is at this crossroads where opportunity and the need for money conflict with ethics.
In this case of fraud, the intermediary was Marc Fornell-Mestres. He was a decent enough player back in the day, who was once ranked as high as 236th in the world in 2007, high enough and well-known enough to recognize those people who might be influenced. After the investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit, he has been suspended.
Similar sports scandals where an insider influenced athletes have been well documented in boxing, basketball and collegiate football. The gamblers group through their intermediary bribed the players. They went one step further. They used stolen identities to place bets and spread the money to as many as 40 accounts. In not so thinly veiled threats, the gamblers or their surrogates attended the matches to make sure the players didn’t go back on their word. In all, close to 100 matches were fixed from the lower-tier Futures and Challenger tournaments.
The Aftermath
The gamblers will go their ways, but the consequences of the choices of promising athletes have led to suspensions, shame and a loss of reputation. Whether they were awarded $1 or $100,000 for cheating is irrelevant now. At the time they accepted to fix match, I’ve no doubt they were convinced, they rationalized that no one would get hurt except some greedy gamblers. They were wrong, of course. In the end, each one of the players was hurt badly by the consequences of their actions. The destruction of their good names will affect their lives for many years to come. Unfortunately, when good people are bought and sold they are an easy target.
