REGIONAL
DeFazio accuses NFL team owners of bribery
WASHINGTON (AP) - NFl.
owners art; threatening to pull
complimentary Super Bowl
tickets from congressmen who
oppose their effort to ban sports
lotteries, Rep. Peter DeFazio
charged Wednesday.
Representatives of profes
sional sports also are using ex
pansion teams as bargaining
chips to garner votes for the
measure to outlaw the lotteries,
the Oregon Democrat said.
NFL Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue and Steve Greenberg,
deputy baseball commissioner,
are among those who have tes
tified before Congress in favor
of outlawing the gambling
games. The games offer payoffs
to wagerers who pick a series of
NFL or NBA winners.
But DeFazio. whose state
runs the only such game in op
eration. said the more effective
lobbying effort is taking place
behind the scenes as team own
ers and others "overtly and im
plicitly" threaten to take away
lawmakers' free tickets to the
Super Bowl.
"That’s as offensive as a ma
jor industry calling me up and
saying. 'Well, we were going to
give you a campaign contribu
tion, but we are going to with
hold it until we see how you
vote on this bill'." he said in
an interview.
DeFazio said several sources
have reported such activity to
bis office and that several mem
bers of Congress have told him
they have been contacted by a
local team owner or prominent
sports figure.
"In sort of a half-joking way.
they ask me if I am going to be
able to get them Super Bowl
tickets (to replace the compli
mentary ones) I would say the
frequency that I hear this so
called joke leads me to believe
there is some truth to it." he
said
"It's a cheap vote for them
because right now it only af
fects Oregon and it puts them
in good with the fat tats of pro
fessional sports." DeFazio said.
Kven more important finan
cially. he; said, is the threat that
leagues will refuse to consider
expansion teams for states
where representatives oppose
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the ban on sports lotteries
"The franchise threats I have
not heard first-hand, but I have
heard it is going on at the state
level, with mayors and gover
nors. It seems to be awfully
prevalent.” he said. "They are
being told that they may be
thinking about a sports lottery
but they better back off: other
wist;. they are not going to get
an expansion team.”
Officials for the NR. and Ma
jor league baseball offices in
New York said no one was im
mediately available for com
ment. A spokesman for Rep.
John Bryant. D-Texas. a spon
sor of the ban. said the charges
were "nonsense.”
IJeFazio said Super Bowl
tickets carry much weight with
lawmakers
"Sports an? the most com
mon trivial conversations
around hen* If you are not talk
ing about politics you are talk
ing about sports," he said
"I'm hoping when we talk
about this on the floor (of the
House) we can shame some of
these folks into standing up to
these sports bullies." he said.
Oregon's lottery netted the
state about $2.6 million last
year, its first year in operation,
with a portion of the profit go
ing to support Oregon's inter
collegiate athletics.
Oamblers are given a chance
to wager $1 on a game card by
picking the winners of a series
of NFL or NBA games. Jackpots
are divided among those who
pick all the winning teams cor
rectly.
"The Oregon sports lottery Is
simply the office pool on a
slightly larger scale." said a
letter signer! by Oregon's entire
congressional delegation.
The NBA has sued in an ef
fort to halt the game.
Hackers of the ban on such
lotteries - included in the omni
bus crime bill |>ending before
Congress - argue that state
sanctioned gambling compro
mises the integrity of sports.
"I can think of no greater
threat to an athlete's personal
sense of accomplishment than
gnvornmentally sanctioned
sports gambling." said former
Cincinnati Hengals linebacker
Reggie Williams, now a Cincin
nati City Council member.
Tagliabue told a congression
al subcommittee this summer
the gambling games will "cre
ate ii (lervasive dir of suspicion
about controversial plays in
NF1. Kamos
"They will come to repre
sent. . the fast buck, the quick
fix. the desire to Kot something
for nothing," he said.
Oregon Lottery Director |im
Davey told the same (>anel that
professional sports leagues
should concentrate their anti
gambling efforts on Nevada,
where billions of dollars are
wagered on the outcome of
games
"Who would In? more likely
to try to fix a football game? A
guy with a $1 million In?) in lais
Vegas on a single game or a
guy with a $-’ bet who would
have to fix t-i games to win
only $84,000?" he said
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