This is the time of the year when pundits decide what the best and worst happenings of the year are. In the sports arena, I can’t think of any “bests,” but I can remember many worse happenings. Can you say “sportswashing?”
What am I referring to? Examples include
• Decades-loyal fans are being priced out of attending a game as ticket prices increase.
Courtesy WEAR-TV
• Hard liquor ads are appearing during televised sports events.
• Teams and leagues promoting gambling by allowing bookies into the homes of people watching sporting events.
But if I had to choose the worst thing that happened in sports in 2025, I would have to flip a coin and hope that it would land upright, because I can’t decide whether the worst is the sports betting scandal, “sportswashing,” or none of the above.
When the subject is “sportswashing,” most people think of Saudi Arabia, because the Kingdom is pouring more money into sports events in an attempt to convince people that it no longer deserves to be considered an outlaw country. But to paraphrase what Shakespeare said in Romeo and Juliet, “a rose is a rose no matter what it’s called.”
The moguls who control American sports have practiced “sportswashing” no matter what they call it. They do so by spending billions of dollars a year on “good feel” activities, such as fans’ appreciation days and honoring the military. That’s not to say that teams don’t care about fans. They do because, without fans, teams would go out of business. But like any business, teams do what’s best for them, not for consumers.
When Steven A. Cohen paid $2.475 billion in 2020 to buy the New York Mets, he said he was doing it for the fans. “I’m essentially doing it for the fans,” Cohen said, reported the New York Times. Cohen continued: “When I really thought about this, I could make millions of people happy, and what an incredible opportunity that is. That’s how I’m thinking about this. I’m not trying to make money here. I have my business at Point 72, and I make money over there. So here, it’s really about building something great, building something for the fans, winning. I find this an amazing opportunity.”
Courtesy Virginia Review of Politics
Whether that’s “sportswashing” or not is debatable. But it’s certainly self-serving, as are the Saudi’s reasons for their interest in promoting sports. Of course, was there anything more self-serving on the 2025 sports scene than scandal-ridden FIFA awarding its peace prize to scandal-ridden President Trump? Of course not!
Perhaps the most obvious attempt at “sportswashing” dates back many years, when NBCUniversal televised the Olympic Games from Russia and China. Missing from the NBC Olympic reporter’s commentary was any mention of the undemocratic nature of those countries. Even when the games are held in a democratic country, no mention of controversies is reported. Instead, NBC Olympic reporters act as if they are PR staffers of the International Olympic Committee. To get the whole story, viewers would have to tune in to another channel or read a print publication.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the worst of the “sportswashing” scandals of the year because there were so many. That said, they ALL involved gambling.
• An NBA mafia-linked betting scandal.
• An MLB pitching bribery scheme,
• An NCCA gambling and game manipulation scheme.
Sports betting scandals have a long history. How many “fixing” the outcomes of games became public and how many were covered up by teams and league officials will never be known. But one thing is certain: It can never be stopped.
And that’s sad, because every time a field goal is missed, some people will say, “It’s done deliberately to cover the point spread.” Every time a pitcher throws an errant pitch, some people will say, “He did it on purpose because he has money on the game.” Most of the time, that will not be true, but occasionally it may be because gambling has become ubiquitous in American culture. And teams and leagues happily promote it.
The sports cartels have spent billions of dollars to convince the public that sports is what it’s never been – the best and most pure aspect of American culture. It never was and never will be because there are good and bad human beings in all walks of life – even sports.
But, in my opinion, the worst sports news of the year will not appear on the “worst” lists. It’s how the sports moguls have reduced the number of “free” games viewers can watch on cable and network television. (Actually, those “free” games are not free. Cable channels include them in their monthly bills as “sports packages,” even if a person never watches a sporting event.)
Courtesy Urban Dictionary Mugs
Many years ago, the president of Gillette asked me to name three things that might influence the company’s relationship with sports in the future.
I opined that the increasing cost of TV ads, corporate logos on uniforms, and pay TV are issues. The first two have occurred. Paying for watching sports on television increases each year. It’s past its infancy but not yet mature, and I predict it will eventually require viewers to pay a fee for every event they watch.
But whatever transpires in the future, you’ll probably still be able to dull the pain regarding how much money you lost betting. You can watch a game on television by drowning your sorrows in cancer-causing products like beer and hard liquor that the moguls of sport sell in their stadiums and allow on broadcasts of their games.
During the New Year, one thing is sure: “Sportswashing” by foreign and American sports moguls will continue. It’s certain. Why? You can bet any time of the day without leaving your living room.
