No episode is more instructive of the NFL's historical approach to gambling than the Bachelors III affair, which featured none other than Joe Namath.
Another tale off the top of my head
The year was 1969, and Namath was arguably the most famous athlete in America. Fresh off piloting his New York Jets to a stunning upset win over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, Broadway Joe had the world at his feet. He had talent, charisma, and star power, and he liked to have a good time.
Namath's New York base of operations was his Upper East Side apartment, replete with llama skin carpeting. But he also needed a place to hang, so along with a couple of friends, he opened a restaurant and bar called Bachelors III. It was the heyday of the singles bar in Manhattan and elsewhere, and Joe's joint fit right in.
All was going swimmingly, until the NFL's security apparatus caught wind of Namath's venture. Soon the league honchos, up to and including Commissioner Alvin "Pete" Rozelle, were none too happy with Namath. The league had Namath's "associates," his friends and partners in the bar, pegged as known gamblers. Rozelle and and the rest of the league braintrust could not abide the newly merged league's brightest star consorting with such scoundrels. The NFL threatened to suspend Namath indefinitely until he divested his hospitality side hustle. Namath protested his innocence, even retired briefly before the 1969 season, but eventually capitulated and returned to the NFL.
It is interesting to note that Namath was not accused of gambling, his partners had no criminal record, and there was no evidence of gambling in Bachelor's III. But the NFL wanted to ensure that the public would not make any such assumption, and were willing to come down on their biggest star to make that point. Given that Namath was a bit of an anti-hero, countercultural icon type, bringing him to heel also represented a win for the establishment. Today we have Draft Kings...
Now the picks, generated via the proprietary Spreadbuster algorithm:
Three-Star Picks
Last week: 4-0. Overall: 23-14.
Two-Star Picks
Last week: 2-3. Overall: 19-28.
One-Star Picks
These games are anyone's guess.
Last week: 2-3. Overall: 30-32-1.
Total - Last week: 8-6. Overall: 73-75-1.
For more on Joe and Bachelors III
https://hipquotient.com/broadway-joe-namath-the-first-sports-rock-star/
https://www.ganggreennation.com/2014/6/6/5787144/the-saga-of-bachelors-iii
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