Baseball's ‘Spot-Fixing' Investigation Now Includes a Star Closer
But the steady drip of revelations since then has shined a spotlight on a frightening reality for the entire industry of professional sports: No caliber of athlete, no matter how rich, famous or talented, is immune to the threat of gambling.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Judge Jeanine' Pirro pushed election falsehoods. She's Trump's pick for D.C. prosecutor.
The top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. used her Fox News show to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election and became so outspoken that the network canceled one of her episodes out of fear for what she might say. Jeanine Pirro, who hosted "Justice with Judge Jeanine" for 11 years, was one of eight prominent personalities on the network named in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems that ended in a $787.5 million settlement. Many of Pirro's comments advanced the false theory that machines made by Dominion were being used to flip votes from Trump to Biden. A 2022 report from conservative legal experts found that Trump's allies did not provide evidence of widespread election fraud, and judges threw out virtually all of Trump's cases based on lack of evidence. Since May, she has been the acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., after President Donald Trump tapped her for the powerful post. The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance her nomination for permanent appointment July 17, and the Senate could confirm her as soon as this week. While the U.S. attorney job doesn't generally involve election issues, the office led the prosecutions of Trump supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in effort to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 election. Democrats and other critics say Pirro's record of espousing debunked conspiracy theories make her unqualified for the position. 'I have serious concerns over somebody who was such a vocal proponent of these completely false election theories in 2020 taking over the office that was primarily responsible for prosecuting the perpetrators of a violent attack on the Capitol,' said Jonathan Diaz, the voting advocacy director for the left-leaning Campaign Legal Center. Harrison Fields, a spokesperson for the White House, defended Pirro's qualifications. The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. 'Judge Jeanine, a highly respected and accomplished attorney and judge, is dedicated to President Trump's agenda to restore safety and justice in our nation's capital,' Fields said in a statement. 'Baseless, last-minute character assassination attempts are desperate and undermine the safety of D.C. residents and tourists who would benefit from her swift confirmation.' Here's what to know about Pirro and her record of promoting baseless accusations of voting fraud. Pirro's career as judge, district attorney Pirro had a long career as a prosecutor in Westchester County, New York before becoming part of Trump's inner circle. She worked as an assistant district attorney for 15 years before being elected judge on the Westchester County Court. She later spent 12 years as the elected Westchester district attorney. She was the first woman president of the New York District Attorneys Association, and she started the first domestic violence unit in a prosecutors office in the nation, according to her Justice Department bio. For nearly two decades, Pirro largely has been known to Americans a television personality with a lawyer's punch and a New Yorker's bluntness. She hosted "Justice with Judge Jeanine" on Fox News and later joined the network's roundtable program "The Five." Since the U.S. Attorney's office for D.C. also functions as the local prosecutor for the district, Pirro is leaning on her local prosecution record and emphasizing how she will help victims in the community. 'No more tolerance of hatred,' Pirro said after her swearing in at the White House. 'No more mercy for criminals. Violence will be addressed directly with the appropriate punishment. And this city again will become a shining city on a hill in an America that President Trump has promised to make great again and will make safe again.' Sen. Alex Padilla, a Democrat from California, said shortly before voting against her confirmation that this experience was not enough. Padilla noted she hasn't litigated in more than 20 years, is not admitted to the D.C. bar, and never practiced in a federal court before Trump appointed her. 'These are serious law enforcement jobs,' Padilla said of being U.S. attorney. 'They are not patronage positions to be handed out to the president's unqualified friends and allies as a thank you for their loyalty.' Trump has appointed many other Fox News hosts to his administration, most notably Pete Hegseth to run the Department of Defense and Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Some of his judicial appointments have been criticized for their perceived lack of experience. Trump has also staffed top Justice Department positions with his former personal lawyers, sparking fears among Trump critics that the lawyers could place loyalty to Trump over neutrally enforcing the law. 'She may belong on Fox News, but she does not belong in a federal law enforcement role,' Padilla said of Pirro. 'Reckless maniac' Pirro was one of the most outspoken critics of the 2020 election, and documents from the Dominion lawsuit show her skepticism started more than a month before Trump lost. When a Fox News employee asked her Sept. 27, 2020 if she would accept the results of the election, the lawsuit says she responded, 'I will accept the results, but I reserve my right to challenge the massive fraud I am justifiably anticipating.' The Dominion suit was settled just before opening arguments in the trial, with Fox News agreeing to pay the company $787.5 million. A Fox News spokeswoman said in a statement that the network acknowledged the court's rulings that some Dominion statements were false, and that the settlement reflected the network's commitment to high journalistic standards. By Nov. 7, 2020, the Saturday after the presidential election, executives were 'worried about her discussion conspiracy of theories' and canceled her show for that day. A few days later, a Fox producer emailed Pirro saying she would need to include statements from Dominion on her show, and then forwarded it to another person calling her a 'reckless maniac.' Pirro cited a Hugo Chavez conspiracy theory On Nov. 14, 2020, the day of her next scheduled show, the lawsuit says a Fox News producer received information from the network's internal research department debunking conspiracy theories about the Dominion machines. The lawsuit also says Pirro 'flashed Dominion's general denial on air for fifteen seconds.' That night, she hosted Sidney Powell, another Trump-affiliated lawyer who aggressively challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. Before introducing Powell to discuss 'what she has unearthed in the creation of Dominion," Pirro said: 'The Dominion software system has been tagged as one allegedly capable of flipping votes.'' Pirro discussed with Powell how she might 'get to the bottom of exactly what Dominion is, who started Dominion, how it can be manipulated if it is manipulated at all.' Powell suggested Dominion machines were originally designed to alter votes for Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez, and that military intelligence officials should investigate the issue. Pirro agreed about the investigation. 'Yes, and it — hopefully, the Department of Justice, but — but who knows anymore,' Pirro replied. 'Sidney Powell, good luck on your mission.' On Nov. 21, 2020, during a segment she would refer to as her opening statement, Pirro described the case that Trump's lawyers were laying out: 'An organized criminal enterprise, a conspiracy by Democrats, especially in cities controlled and corrupted by Democrats,' and 'a company called Dominion which they say started in Venezuela with Cuban money and with the assistance of Smartmatic software' in which 'a back door is capable of flipping votes.' Democrats objected to her nomination The Senate Judiciary Committee did not hold a confirmation hearing on Pirro's nomination, but the committee's Republicans voted to advance her nomination on July 17. Democrats spent a few minutes before the vote criticizing Pirro. Sen Maizie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii said: 'Like all of president Trump's nominees, she has demonstrated unwavering loyalty to him, and if confirmed, we can expect that she will misuse the U.S. attorney's office to go after President Trump's political enemies.' Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said when he met with Pirro personally she refused to answer whether it was appropriate to terminate prosecutor in the U.S. attorney's office for their work on the Jan. 6 prosecutions. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa who chairs the committee, entered a letter of recommendation into the record from the National Fraternal Order of Police that he quoted as saying Pirro is 'widely praised in her work prosecuting domestic abusers, sexual abusers, stalkers, and rapists.' This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Before she becae top DC prosecutor, Jeanine Pirro pushed election lies
Axios
4 minutes ago
- Axios
Sports gambling scandals raise concerns over game integrity
The major sports leagues are confronting a potentially costly reality in sports gambling: If you embrace it, problems will come. Why it matters: Recent investigations of pro baseball and basketball stars have raised fears about the integrity of sports, and whether certain plays, or even whole games, are being manipulated. Driving the news: One of Major League Baseball's star relief pitchers this week became the latest athlete to be ensnared in a sports gambling scandal. State of play: For decades, the major sports leagues spurned betting in part because of fears it would invite questions about the integrity of the game. But since the Supreme Court overturned the effective federal ban on sports betting in 2018, more than half of U.S. states have legalized it — and the major sports have embraced it, creating a windfall for leagues, players, media, sportsbooks and state governments. Americans legally bet about $150 billion on sports in 2024, driving a 24.8% increase in revenue for the industry compared with a year earlier, according to the American Gaming Association. Threat level: Easy mobile access to legal betting is leading to growing suspicions of players conspiring with gamblers to fix outcomes. Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase on Monday was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave through Aug. 31 "while MLB continues its sports betting investigation," the league said in a statement. He's the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave as the MLB examines gambling this year, joining starter Luis Ortiz. Efforts to reach both players through the Guardians and the Major League Baseball Players Association were unsuccessful. They have not been accused of any wrongdoing. The scrutiny comes after former NBA player Jontay Porter was accused of disclosing confidential information about his health to a bettor and then limiting his participation in a game — information the league claimed was used to bet against him. Porter was banned from the NBA and later pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with the scandal. The NBA did not respond to a request for comment. The risk for the leagues is that fans start to tune out, leading to lower ratings, merchandise sales and ticket revenue, says Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan. "None of the major sports leagues wants to be viewed by the public the way the public used to view staged television wrestling," Gordon says. "They want the games to be viewed as honest games with players trying their best." Inside the room: State policymakers are weighing a crackdown. In sports gambling hotbed New Jersey, for example, state lawmaker Dan Hutchison introduced a bill last week that would ban "microbets" — that is, live wagers on individual plays. That could include balls and strikes in baseball games — the category of bets that social media sleuths have flagged as a potential issue with Clase and Ortiz. "We're likely to see more calls for regulation in this space," gaming law expert Stephen Piepgrass, partner at law firm Troutman Pepper Locke, tells Axios. Gambling industry consultant Dustin Gouker said the advent of regulated sportsbooks has made it easier for authorities to flag irregular activity that otherwise might've stayed in the shadows via illegal offshore betting apps. "Do we need to be able to bet on what the next pitch is, whether it's a ball or strike? Arguably, not," Gouker, of Closing Line Consulting, tells Axios. "But if you start banning lots of things that are in game and make the product worse, you're going to send that offshore." "Bad actors are going to be bad actors," but " we have companies and sportsbooks working together to make sure that if something untoward is happening in the market, we find out," Gouker says. While professional athletes are richly compensated, they are just as susceptible as the public to problem gambling, says Richard Daynard, president of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University.
New York Times
5 minutes ago
- New York Times
The NFL's most efficient pass rusher is a player you've probably never heard of
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Kaden Elliss gets his game plan each week, he immediately skims it to look for the arrows. For each defensive call, the player's responsibility is listed right by his position on the field. The arrow means 'go get the quarterback.' There are no other responsibilities. Just go get that guy. Advertisement 'It's just got an arrow. 'Go that way,'' Elliss said. 'I love seeing that.' As Elliss enters his seventh NFL season, his coaches are putting more and more arrows on his sheet, and maybe there should be even more. The Atlanta Falcons inside linebacker leads the league in pressure percentage (25.7 percent) in the last four seasons, according to TruMedia. 'That guy, you watch him on tape, and he's a game-changer,' first-year Falcons defensive line coach Nate Ollie said. 'A very unique linebacker. Not many linebackers in the league can do what he can do. Man, he's slippery.' Elliss is 88th in sacks over the last four years (17). But he has so many responsibilities and gets only so many chances to rush the passer. His 370 pass-rush snaps since 2021 rank 285th in the league. Last season, he had 43 quarterback pressures on a career-high 147 pass-rush snaps, and that 29.3 percent rate led the league. In fact, the only players with more than 100 pass-rush snaps to finish within 10 percentage points of Elliss last season were Detroit's Aidan Hutchinson (25 percent), Tampa Bay's Lavonte David (21.5) and Arizona's Kyzir White (20.8). 'I can't imagine throughout the league that there is a more polished pass rusher on the inside than he is,' inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud said. Elliss also led the Falcons with 150 tackles, which ranked sixth in the NFL. 'He's unique,' coach Raheem Morris said. 'He can win from a bunch of different spots.' Elliss joined the Falcons as a free agent in 2023 after four years in New Orleans in which he started a combined 12 games, only breaking out in 2023. That slow start to his career might be the reason why at 30, when many professional athletes are just trying to hold on to what they have, Elliss continues to add elements to his game. 'He's still on the rise,' said Ruud, who had a nine-year NFL career in Tampa Bay, Houston, Tennessee and New Orleans. 'I was falling off the cliff going the other way when I was 30. Usually guys when they are his age, they have kind of found their niche. If anything, they are trying to hang on. He's a guy who is going the opposite way.' One of three players all-time in a single season with at least: 5 sacks1 strip sack150 tackles1 interception Kaden Elliss 🔥 — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) June 27, 2025 Elliss' unusual development path could also be because of his football IQ, said Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who is getting his first exposure to Elliss after being hired in the offseason. 'He has this amazing ability to apply information in real time,' Ulbrich said. 'At times, you are very careful about the level of detail that you give someone because it slows some guys down. It slows more players down than it doesn't. He is the exact opposite. The more information you give him, the better he does.' Advertisement Elliss is such a high-capacity player that he has convinced Ulbrich to violate one of the coach's key tenets, which is to 'put players on repeat' by giving them a limited number of roles and responsibilities to master. 'Most of the time I would say don't dilute guys, but he's a guy that we're going to push to be versatile,' Ulbrich said. Elliss' versatility means his role can be game plan-specific. In 2024, under former defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake, Elliss rushed the passer 46 times (with a 32.6 percent pressure rate) in the first eight games. In the last nine games, he rushed 101 times with five sacks and a 27.7 percent pressure rate. 'It's a lot of fun getting to do a lot of different things,' Elliss said. 'It gives you so many opportunities to impact the game. You can run around, go get as many tackles as you want, take away some pass concepts and then you get an arrow on your sheet and go get the quarterback.' Elliss' role this season is likely to depend as much on what his teammates can do as anything specific to him. The Falcons signed Divine Deablo to play on the inside next to Elliss and drafted two edge rushers — Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. — in the first round. 'Kaden makes my job easy,' Deablo said. 'He's a vet by the definition of it.' Even so, Elliss is still 'a developmental player behind the ball compared to his pass-rush ability,' Ruud said. Ulbrich has seen plenty of development there this offseason. 'I'm excited for the world to see what he has become as a stack linebacker,' Ulbrich said, 'plus all the other stuff he's going to do.'
