Nevada leaders blast NCAA letter

Friday, March 9, 2001 | 11:32 a.m.

A war of words has erupted on Capitol Hill between Nevada's House members and two adversaries leading an NCAA-inspired campaign to ban betting on college sports.

Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., reacted angrily Thursday to a "dear colleague" letter written by their two House foes that suggests Nevada casinos might be fixing college sporting events.

The Feb. 22 letter was co-authored by Reps. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Tim Roemer, D-Ind., and circulated on the Hill to solicit co-sponsors for the National Collegiate Athletic Association bill that they plan to introduce in the House soon.

"As long as ... big money is out there and sports betting is both legal and indeed encouraged through the publication of betting lines, the temptation to shave points or throw a game will always be there," the two wrote.

"Without some action, we'll no longer know if amateur sports are an act of pure competition or simply an act whose ending has been scripted in the backrooms of the legal gambling parlors."

In a "dear colleague" response Thursday, Berkley and Gibbons chastised Graham and Roemer for making "serious factual misstatements and errors in logic" throughout the letter.

The Nevada representatives called the sports-fixing accusation "absurd and unfounded.

"While the Speech and Debate Clause protects us from being held legally accountable for the truth of what we say, and almost anything goes in political debates these days, this baseless allegation is way out of bounds." Berkley and Gibbons wrote.

"It is insulting to the thousands of athletes who put their hearts and souls into college sports. Sadly, our colleagues besmirch pure competition in the name of protecting it by wrongly implying that college athletes are corrupt and their games are in doubt."

Berkley and Gibbons added: "The sad fact that our colleagues must resort to falsehoods to ban legal activity in our state speaks volumes about the weakness of their bill."

Graham and Roemer plan to introduce their legislation as early as next week when the NCAA kicks off its "March Madness" basketball tournament. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also is authoring a companion Senate bill to outlaw legal betting in Nevada on college athletics.

The Nevada delegation last month introduced alternative bills in both houses calling for stepped-up Justice Department scrutiny of illegal sports wagering in America. The measure requires the NCAA to do more about betting on its college campuses.

In an interview from Washington, Berkley said the Graham-Roemer letter, in her judgment, "went over the top" and "libeled" the casino industry.

She said she voiced her concerns directly to Roemer.

"I told him I found the letter offensive and most unfortunate," Berkley said. "They are making a deliberate and misleading inference, which is designed to inflame members of Congress."

One veteran casino lobbyist in Washington said the letter mirrored the beliefs of the religious right, which has been mounting an anti-gambling campaign around the country for several years.

But American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf, the industry's chief Washington lobbyist, said he saw the NCAA's fingerprints all over the letter.

"At the heart of every legislative debate, whether it's in Carson City or Washington, there's a duty for the advocates on both sides to be truthful in presenting their arguments," Fahrenkopf said.

"The letter that was sent out by Graham and Roemer violates that fundamental rule of candor and fairness, and I commend the Nevada delegation for making it very clear to their fellow members of Congress that misrepresentations and outright falsehoods are being pushed by the NCAA and their supporters."

Bill Saum, the NCAA's point man in the betting battle, could not be reached for comment this morning.

Graham and Roemer wrote that they expected their bill will protect the integrity of college athletics and put a stop to the "growing and increasingly negative influence" of Nevada's sports betting industry.

"By banning legal sports betting," they said, "we can put the emphasis back where it belongs -- on athletes playing their best, not placing their bets; on beating the competition, not beating the spread."