Tennis' "Sacrificial Lambs"

5-Euro bets? Potito Starace risked his career to place 5-Euro bets? Is that brain-dead, or what?

We'll never hear the end of the whining that he wasn't betting on his own matches. Leave it to a complete idiot to insult everyone else's intelligence.

He acts like he doesn't know the reason for that rule. But all it takes is a moment's thought to figure it out. The rules not only discourage and punish cheating, they discourage and punish stupid behavior that can land a player in bed with the Mob - owing them money for your bad bets and having them offer a deal you can't refuse - to pay them back by throwing your next match.

It is common knowledge that those are the Mob's patented tactics. Heck, they may be fixing matches to get betting players in debt.

That's why athletes must be clean. They not only mustn't cheat, they must stay out of predicaments where they can be forced to cheat.

And listen to Daniele Bracciali's whining...

"We were the sacrificial lambs. That is why they have got upset with us," he said.

"We are not champions and we are not important at a high level. But I cannot believe that we Italians were the only ones that placed the odd little bet."

What a victim-act. Where's the innocence in that? There's no defense at all in that statement, so he is admitting guilt.

But he thinks that just because everyone who may have done it didn't get caught, he shouldn't be punished? That is childish thinking. It's just an attempt to misdirect attention, like magicians do.

And all this whining for what? The punishment is but a small fine and few months ban. What's so horrible about that?

That's actually a blessing, because obviously these guys didn't have enough brains to stay away from betting and the serious fix it could have gotten them into with creditors.

They won't go broke, and they will have a few months off to work on their game (a rare advantage in pro tennis these days) and be back on tour in a few months. Nothing to crybaby about.

Let Potito Starace, Daniele Bracciali, and Alessio Di Mauro grow up and accept the consequences of what they've done.

This is how you keep the sport clean: by punishing every infraction of the anti-corruption rules you catch.

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