The "hypocrisy from the NFL is rampant" in its decision to bar players from participating in a fantasy football convention at a Las Vegas casino hosted by Cowboys QB Tony Romo, according to Ben Volin of the BOSTON GLOBE. It is contradictory "not just because the league embraces other gambling-related activities, such as pointspreads and fantasy football." NFL policies "only prevent players from associating with casinos and gambling, but for some reason there are far fewer rules preventing teams from doing so." It is time for the NFL to "end the charade and allow players to participate in events at casino properties, if not fully embrace sports gambling, which has been a major contributor to the rise of football as the country’s most popular sport" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/14). In N.Y., Ken Belson wrote under the header, "NFL's Unsteady Stance On A Tricky Gambling Landscape." The league's stance has "not persuaded many fans," as to them the distinction between fantasy sports and gambling is "arbitrary and the ban on sports gambling is outdated and intellectually dishonest." Sports leagues have "long wrestled with how to keep gamblers at bay while also making money for their owners" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/14). In Dallas, Tim Cowlishaw wrote it is a "sad state of affairs, a completely misguided one, in fact, when you look at the NFL and its attitudes toward betting." It is "still the 1950s" in the NFL. Cowlishaw: "All of this hand-wringing about gambling is so disingenuous" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/13).
