There's also the revelation by Donaghy that league rules don't apply to all players. Some of that information included player injuries, which teams were deliberately tanking games, and which referees had grudges with coaches and athletes, all of which affected the outcome of contests. It's an eye-opening film that focuses on Donaghy's gambling scandal while shedding light on the integrity, or lack thereof, within the NBA itself.ĭuring the doc, Donaghy denies fixing games he was involved in, saying he was merely supplying insider information to gamblers. It's the story of former NBA referee Tim Donaghy who got booted from the league and sent to federal prison for 15 months for his role in fixing games. I recently watched the Netflix documentary, Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul. While there's merit to their argument, that doesn't mean that the fix isn't in. Sports fans are harder to win over, though, since their bold claim is that what they're watching is legitimate competition. The condescending nature of the question is annoying enough, as if, being an adult living in the modern world, I've somehow not been tipped off to that fact.īut what's most aggravating is the hypocrisy involved, as pro wrestling is no different than other forms of entertainment such as reality TV, Game of Thrones, or the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even after 37 years, it's the conversation I dread having the most because, without fail, the initial reply is often the same: "You know that stuff's fake, right?" ![]() Though this particular papyrus is not available for viewing there, other holdings have been put online.The hardest thing about being a wrestling fan is admitting to someone that I'm a wrestling fan. Currently owned by the Egypt Exploration Society, it is held at the Sackler Library at Oxford University. In his writings, the Greek sophist Philostratus complains of the degeneration of athletics, blaming trainers who “have no regard for the reputation of the athletes, but become their advisers on buying and selling with a view to their own profits.”įound in the winter of 1903-04 during an excavation at Oxyrhynchus, among Egypt’s most important archaeological sites, the contract is nearly complete, except for the right side where the second half of several lines are missing. Fines imposed on athletes who violated the integrity of their games helped fund the construction of bronze statues of Zeus at Olympia, for example. Other written accounts suggest bribery was fairly common during ancient sporting events. Winning athletes would typically be greeted home with a triumphant entry and would receive a sizable cash pension. That “seems rather little,” says Rathbone. In the text, recently deciphered, translated and interpreted by Dominic Rathbone of King’s College London, Demetrius agrees to throw the match for 3,800 drachmas, about enough to buy one donkey. 267, is apparently the first known bribery contract in ancient sports. This papyrus, found in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and dating to A.D. It promised to be a noble spectacle-except the fix was in. The smackdown was set for a day in the 14th year of the Roman emperor Gallienus in the city of Antinoopolis, on the Nile: A final bout in the sacred games honoring a deified youth named Antinous featured teenage wrestlers named Nicantinous and Demetrius.
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