Professional Sports has a gambling problem. Last Tuesday, MLB suspended four players for one year and banished another player for life for betting on big-league games while in the minor leagues. This comes following the NBA banishing a player for life back in April.

Pitchers Jay Groome of the San Diego Padres, Michael Kelly of the Oakland Athletics, Andrew Saalfrank of the Arizona Diamondbacks, and infielder José Rodríguez of the Philadelphia Phillies and all received one-year suspensions, while infielder Tucupita Marcano of the Padres was banished for life.

MLB made a deal with the devil by embracing legalized gambling. I have not seen the numbers, but it must be a huge revenue stream for the owners and ultimately the players. You can’t watch a game without being bombarded with commercials imploring you to bet. The betting sites offer enticing deals like “Bet $5 get $200 in bonus bets if your bet wins” or “Get up to $100 back on your first bet.” They pitch these deals making it sound as if you can get most, or at least some, of your money back if you lose.

How bad is the problem? Just this week Gabe Lacques and Bob Nightengale both had insightful columns in USA Today about the effects of gambling on baseball. Nightengale spoke to multiple players who have received death threats from losers who blamed them for not cashing in on their bets. Lacques and Nightengale obviously see the issues with legalized gambling, yet when you go to the online Sports section for USA Today, the banner at the top of the page has the following links: NFL – NBA – WNBA – MLB – Sports Betting – Olympics – Boxings – More. That’s right; USA Today has a direct link for sports betting, but if you want to know how the Stanley Cup Finals are going, you have to click on “More” and then “NHL” to find out. (Of course, neither Lacques nor Nightengale have any control over the links on their newspaper’s website.)

Sadly, the integrity of the game ultimately will take a hit every time a player is suspended. There are lots of fans who already believe that MLB covered up gambling on the part of Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. It is difficult for them to believe that anyone could have $16 million taken from their account without their knowledge.

Why would a player risk his career by betting on baseball? Maybe they have too much disposable income. After all, they can only buy so many fancy cars, big houses, or gaudy gold chains.

Maybe these suspensions will be a wake-up call for the players. Most players today were either very young or not yet born when MLB banned Pete Rose for life, and Marcano is the first active player to receive a lifetime ban in over a century. They now should know how serious the consequences for betting on baseball can be.

Of the five suspended players, Michael Kelly was the only one in the majors at the time of his suspension, having appeared in a game as recently as May 24. He was having a decent season with a 3-2 record and a 2.54 earned run average. Kelly persevered through the minors from 2012 to 2022 before finally getting to the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 29. Now, his career is in jeopardy. How sad is that?

Finally, these suspensions leave me wondering whether MLB suspending and banning a handful of marginal players is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come. I certainly hope that isn’t the case.