Carolina Basketball Star Enjoys Legal Casino Gambling

The NCAA likes to do the ostrich act whenever gambling is mentioned, but Lawson was at ease telling reporters he plays craps not only at the Greektown Casino, but frequently around the US.

Ty Lawson, star point guard on the North Carolina Tar Heel basketball team, used the team's trip to Detroit for the Final Four to gamble at local casinos. The NCAA likes to do the ostrich act whenever gambling is mentioned, but Lawson was at ease telling reporters he plays craps not only at the Greektown Casino, but frequently around the US.

While Lawson's gambling was totally legal and within NCAA rules, the story brought hours of discussion to sports talk radio. The NCAA is notoriously skittish about casinos and gaming, and has lobbied against legalized gambling in several states.

"What a student does, play bingo in his church for example, while we discourage that, we prefer not to try and regulate that particular kind of activity. But it's highly discouraged," said NCAA president Miles Brand.

Reporters have noted that the NCAA is not so squeamish when it is receiving payment. Several member schools accept money from casinos as sponsors who prominently advertise at the schools' arenas.

But realists have said the organization needs to realize gambling will occur with or without its sanction. When asked about his play, Lawson recounted stories of playing at venues around the US as the team traveled, and noted, "The only time I lost was in Reno; that’s when everybody on the team lost.”

Clearly, when such a high-profile team finds everyone on it gambling at casinos, the NCAA needs to do a reality check when it talks of keeping games pure, as if players were babes who have no idea gaming exists.