NBA Hall of Famer and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley has been a consistent opponent of sports betting. In fact, he helped pass the Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which banned the practice in all 50 states, with a few exceptions.
It was an incident in his professional basketball career that helped shaped his view.
“We were ahead by five points or so, the opponent hit a basket to cut the lead to three points, and I heard cheering,” Bradley said of the seemingly meaningless basket as the game was ending. “I asked why, and someone said they were cheering because [the other team] covered the point spread…I know that when I was a player, I certainly didn’t like the idea of being a roulette chip.”