美国国家公共电台 NPR New Jersey Takes On Major Professional Sports Leagues In Sports Betting Case

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The federal ban on sports betting is tested before the Supreme² Court today. Now, we do not know the odds³ in Vegas on how this case will turn out, but we do know that the United States prohibits sports betting in most states. The court challenge claims that that ban unconstitutionally tramples⁴ on state sovereignty. The ban was enacted⁶ in 1992 at the instigation of a former amateur and professional sports star-turned-U.S. senator.

Here's NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.

(SOUNDBITE OF NBA TELECAST)

UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS COMMENTATOR⁷: Bradley on the left, a pass to Bradley, jump shot - left side - good.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁸: Bill Bradley played 10 years for the New York Knicks, helping⁹ them win two NBA championships. The former Princeton star and Rhodes scholar went on to serve three terms in the U.S. Senate, representing New Jersey¹⁰ and winning accolades¹¹ as a serious legislator. In his 18 years in the Senate, he introduced just one bill related to sports, a ban on sports betting. The bill, which passed easily, banned gambling¹² on sports in 46 states, exempting¹³ the four states that had already legalized it and giving all the rest a year in which to legalize it if they wanted to. Bradley says his motivation was simple and personal.

BILL BRADLEY: Betting on sports was betting on human beings here. And I thought that that was wrong - that it turns players into roulette chips. It makes the game - which is a game of high-level competition and excellence¹⁴ - into slot machines. And I don't think that should be what we do in this country.

TOTENBERG: Bradley said there was virtually no congressional opposition¹⁵ to his bill back in 1992, though he says that Donald Trump¹⁶ - with failing investments in Atlantic City casinos - lobbied against it, believing that sports betting was the answer to his financial problems there. After the bill passed, New Jersey did not seek to legalize gambling in its one-year window of opportunity. That was then, and this is now, however.

Now the American Gaming Association estimates that the figure for illegal sports betting has grown to $150 billion a year. And cash-starved states are salivating at the thought of raising billions from legalizing and licensing¹⁷ that activity, not to mention taxing the proceeds. Enter New Jersey, home to at least a half dozen shuttered Atlantic City casinos, a state where Republicans and Democrats¹⁸, since 2011, have been trying to overturn the federal ban or somehow get around it. As New Jersey Governor Chris Christie put it bluntly in 2012...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CHRIS CHRISTIE: We intend to go forward and allow sports gambling to happen. If someone wants to stop us, then they'll have to take action to try to stop us.

TOTENBERG: Twice the state has tried to legalize sports betting. Twice the major sports leagues and the NCAA have taken the state to court, each time contending that the state is violating the federal ban enacted in 1992. And twice the state has lost in the federal appeals court.

Now, however, the issue has reached the Supreme Court with the state contending that the federal law unconstitutionally commandeers the states to enforce the federal ban. Arguing today's case will be two men, each of whom served as solicitor¹⁹ general in the George W. Bush administration. Representing New Jersey is lawyer Ted¹ Olson, who argues that the federal government cannot tell the states that they have to carry out the federal ban on sports betting.

THEODORE OLSON: That can't say to states, you're just working for us. You take the responsibility. We'll give the instructions. We'll be the puppet master.

TOTENBERG: He rests his case on two prior Supreme Court cases holding that the federal government cannot commandeer a state's apparatus²⁰ to enforce a federal law. Most notably²¹, in 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law requiring state and local officials to carry out background checks on gun buyers was unconstitutional because it commandeered or conscripted state and local officials to enforce a federal law. But lawyer Paul Clement²², representing the sports leagues and backed by the Trump administration, says this case is very different. He contends that the federal ban on sports betting doesn't commandeer anything. All it does is set out what states may not do.

PAUL CLEMENT: Here, they can't authorize²³ sports betting. They can't authorize a state lottery²⁴ system that involves a component²⁵ of sports gambling. And, you know, with all due respect to the other side's argument, it's just not that unusual for Congress to tell states that they can't do things that they want to do.

TOTENBERG: All that Congress did here, he argues, was enact⁵ a federal policy pre-empting what the states could do. The Supreme Court has often upheld such federal pre-emption statutes²⁶ - for example, barring states from adding to federally approved labels for pharmaceuticals²⁷ or barring states from setting trucking rates.

The clash of constitutional theories in this case, however, may be beside the point in the real world. In the modern economic landscape, there's growing tolerance²⁸ for sports betting. Even among the sports leagues that are fighting New Jersey in this case, there's more interest in Congress changing the federal law. And some have suggested the leagues wouldn't mind losing their Supreme Court case. The reason boils down to one simple word - money. Everybody sees a chance to profit, from the states to the professional sports leagues.

In 2014, the NBA commissioner²⁹ wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times calling for a, quote, "federal framework to legalize sports betting." The National Football and Hockey leagues have decided³⁰ to move major sports teams to the capital of sports betting, Las Vegas.

(SOUNDBITE OF AD)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE ACTOR: Play Draft Kings' free $100,000 contest...

TOTENBERG: Major League Baseball as well as the NBA and the NHL have invested in sports fantasy companies. And the NFL as well as Major League Baseball are increasingly partnering with data dissemination³¹ firms for gambling purposes overseas. So it's no surprise that even if the court does not uncork the bottle of legalized sports betting, Congress just might revisit its ban. For the man who started it all, Bill Bradley, that is dispiriting.

BRADLEY: A lot of things will make money. The question is - what's right, and what's wrong? Do you want your children involved betting on sports? Where - and how about Little League? How about junior high school?

TOTENBERG: After all, he says, there's money to be made by betting on the spread in those games, too. A decision in the sports betting case is expected later in the Supreme Court term.

Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

1 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 tramples   

踩( trample的第三人称单数 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

5 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

6 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

12 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

13 exempting   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• EPA adopted regulations exempting discharges from agricultural activities, with certain exceptions for relatively major pollution sources. 环境保护局采用管制规章，禁止源自农业活动的各种排放，对于一些相关的大型污染源也有例外。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

14 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

15 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 solicitor   

n.初级律师，事务律师

参考例句：

• The solicitor's advice gave me food for thought.律师的指点值得我深思。
• The solicitor moved for an adjournment of the case.律师请求将这个案件的诉讼延期。

20 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

21 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

22 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

23 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

24 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

25 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

26 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

27 pharmaceuticals   

n.医药品；药物( pharmaceutical的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the development of new pharmaceuticals 新药的开发
• The companies are pouring trillions of yen into biotechnology research,especially for pharmaceuticals and new seeds. 这些公司将大量资金投入生物工艺学研究，尤其是药品和新种子方面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

29 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

30 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

31 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。