In the midst of the Tim Donaghy controversy that seems to continually arise, another semi-scandal has popped up for the league. Jack Mai, a former Kings scouting director, has been banned by the NBA for some shady action. Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! has the details:
An investigation revealed Mai bet on NBA games “limited to small amounts of money among acquaintances and there is no evidence that he ever attempted to use his position with the Kings to influence the outcome of any NBA game. Mai bet on the Kings’ games for years, “some for, and some against,”
…
One league source said Mai had “questionable business dealings with Korean and Chinese basketball teams and leagues. He was using his position with the Kings to make business deals for players, equipment, etc., and appearances by NBA players in Asia for money.”
Now what’s the difference between some guy in ticket sales betting on the team and someone working in scouting? Presumably a guy like Mai has much more information about teams and players, thus making it akin to insider trading when it comes to stocks. The League was correct in banning him considering they have to remove themselves from any ties to gambling scandals involving league employees. To me, it’s the second part of the story that’s quite alarming.
There’s no place for shady people who are using their positions to try and arrange business deals on the side. It reminds me of the issues the Nationals were facing when they had to fire Jim Bowden and Jose Rijo amidst a signing bonus skimming scandal. Clearly Mai was working under the table and had some questionable deals going on. The Kings and the NBA took the right actions against him.
