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Hypocritical stance NCAA Web page linked to gambling contest
Posted: Friday March 31, 2000 03:18 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The NCAA, which has threatened to withhold press credentials from newspapers that accept ads from gambling touts, had a Web link to a college basketball pool-type contest offering more than $45,000 in cash prizes, the Los Angeles Times reported. The link on the NCAA's Final Four site was contained in a Maxim magazine ad directing Web surfers to a contest called Maxim Madness, a Times sports columnist reported in Friday's editions. The contest was connected to the NCAA championship tournament and was linked to the Web site in the days after the NCAA announced which teams were in the tournament. According to the story, the contest was similar to office pools. No money was required from participants, but more than $45,000 in cash prizes was offered. The NCAA said it didn't know the link was being placed there, adding that officials had it pulled as soon as they found out. "This was a flat-out error," NCAA spokesman Wally Renfro told the newspaper Wednesday. "We didn't know it was going to be there and we absolutely do not condone it." He said the organization's corporate partner, Total Sports, was the one responsible for the NCAA's Final Four Web site and made a separate arrangement with Maxim. Some anti-gambling advocates were not satisfied, however. "The NCAA parades a get-tough message to the public, but then allows its name and logo to be used to promote gambling," said Arnie Wexler, a recovering compulsive gambler who runs an anti-gambling hot line. He suggested the NCAA change its anti-gambling message from "Don't Bet on It," to "Gambling on college basketball is morally reprehensible ... unless we get a piece of the action." Although the NCAA had the link pulled, the Times story noted that by the time it was discovered, people had had several days to make their picks. The site was deluged with so many hits, according to the report, that Maxim issued an e-mail at one point advising people to log on late at night in order to get through. Newspapers that accept advertising from gambling touts have also been threatened with loss of NCAA credentials.
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