Vince India and Jake Staiano are able to testify that PGA Tour’s new era transparency goes beyond the installation of glass walls at its ‘Global Home Headquarters’. They are the Korn Ferry Tour Players suspended Oct. 27, for betting on Tour Events, but none of which they participated. The fact that the Tour announced the sanctions and acknowledged them is a welcome change from the days when disciplinary actions were kept in the dark like Dear Leader’s cholesterol.
The announcement was still a reminder of the fact that transparency promises are similar to poker — you eventually have to go “all-in”. The Tour isn’t quite there yet.
The PGA Tour, like every other league that is eager to make money from legalized sports gambling, is susceptible to accusations of hypocrisy. The Integrity Program Manual of the Tour is clear that members are not allowed to gamble on professional tournaments. However, some of the Tour’s official partners, such as bet365 and BetMGM and betParx and DraftKings and Fanduel, allow gambling. It’s important to separate commerce from common sense. A sports league cannot allow betting by anyone with insider information that could affect a competitor’s performance – injury, illness or an unexpected meeting between spouse and lover – or those who have the slightest ability to influence results. The Integrity Program extends the ban to those who receive credentials for an event via a player. This includes caddies and agents as well as family members, trainers, or even relatives.
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On paper it’s easy to understand, but hard to implement. I asked a player if his friends often gambled on tournaments even if they weren’t competing.
“Rare,” replied the man.
What about caddies, then?
He laughed. He laughed.
What if you made a sweeping judgement? Perhaps. I decided to ask a caddie.
He said, “So many people do it.” “On the events that they are participating in.”
The fact that so many people get away with violating the betting ban is not surprising. But the uneven enforcement of the law does not make it problematic. It is concerning that the context of violations is not provided.
The Tour announced on October 11 that Ben An was suspended for three months due to his violation of anti-doping policy. In its statement, the Tour noted that the substance in question is found in a cough medication available in An’s home country of Korea. The context is important when it comes to breaches of anti-doping laws. They can have a significant impact on a person’s reputation. It’s the same with charges of gambling in one’s sport. India and Staiano didn’t get any context. They were only given a single-line acknowledgement that they hadn’t gambled on tournaments they had participated in.
This makes sense in one way. An’s crime was accidental, whereas gambling was deliberate. The suspensions for India (six month) and Staiano (3 months) are presumably based on the specifics of the offenses they committed. It is up to the Tour to explain the reasoning behind these penalties. What events were bet on? What amounts were wagered? Was it a regular pattern, or was it an isolated incident after a few beers? How were the rules broken discovered? The Tour only noted the suspensions and that no betting was allowed on the events where the men competed. It also noted the length of their benching. The statement concluded with the phrase “The Tour has no further comments on the suspensions for the time being.” This was copied and pasted directly from a statement made 16 days prior on An.
This is akin to declaring someone guilty and sentencing them without showing the evidence. At least, this approach won’t hurt the Tour’s relationship with its new partner in Riyadh. This “no more comment” evasion is a form of abdication.
An was not put in a position to have to explain the context of his suspension – the Tour did that for him, explaining how he ended up using a prohibited substance. India and Staiano should not have to explain or justify their actions. It is obvious that they broke the rules and earned their punishments. While it is great that the PGA Tour has begun to inform fans of such incidents, it’s also important to know exactly what happened.
The Tour’s statement on An, India, and Staiano represents progress for an organisation that has historically appreciated sunlight about as much or more than vampires. But it is not enough. In the PGA Tour, trust is a precious commodity. Transparency is the foundation of trust in any business. Transparency is good for business.
