If this is true, this is crazy. According to a report, when the Knicks were a really bad team in the early 1980’s, it seems some of those losses might of had to do with players throwing games. A newly released book is offering some insight into the Knicks from the 1981-1982 season and the relationships with a few players and a certain cocaine dealer. Hit the jump for more.
@IamJoeSports
In Brian Tuohy’s new book, “Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI,” there are accusations that Knicks players from the 1981-82 season were heavy cocaine users and fixed games to help drug dealers win bets. The following is an excerpt from the book:
Coked-up Knicks players fixed games as a favor to their drug dealer — who bet big bucks against the anemic New York squad, FBI informants claimed during the 1981-82 season. The feds probed whether three Knicks, reportedly “heavy users of cocaine,” and their supplier, “one of the largest dealers on the East Coast,” shaved points, according to FBI documents cited in Brian Tuohy’s book, “Larceny Games: Sports Gambling, Game Fixing and the FBI.” The dealer was a degenerate gambler who usually bet $300 a game, informants told investigators, but in January 1982 he began laying $10,000 wagers on Knicks’ opponents — and winning them. By March 25, the coke dealer had won six of his seven five-figure bets against the Knicks — while continuing to make his normal $300 wagers on other NBA games. “Over . . . the last two months, all three [players] have given . . . tips on when to bet the Knicks to lose. This has occurred seven times and six of the tips were good,” according to FBI files citing two unnamed “sources.”
This is why my betting days are long behind me. You never know if the outcome of a game is a genuine one. Since no arrests were made and the investigation has been dead for years, I wonder if the release of the book will re-kindle interest in the story. For the record, Knicks players from that team have denied any wrongdoing.
