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Spillane was responding to a call by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Friday for states to oppose a bill that would give the federal government control of regulating sports betting. Christie told lawmakers from gambling states they should resist so-called “integrity fees” as well as the mandatory use of official league data. Leagues have been unsuccessful so far in getting states to agree to pay them a cut of sports betting.
Gov. Chris Christie on Friday ripped the NBA's decision to move its 2017 All-Star Game from North Carolina to another location because of the state's controversial anti-LGBT law. The governor, co-hosting WFAN's Boomer and Carton, accused the NBA of "grandstanding" when officials announced last month they wouldn't play in Charlotte.
Clinton has actually received backing from more NBA personalities than all other candidates combined, but it amounts to little compared to the massive financial support some owners have thrown behind a bunch of Republican candidates. Twenty-four people involved in the NBA business have donated a combined $84,400 to the Clinton campaign, while Cavs owner Dan Gilbert alone gave $750,000 to the now-defunct Chris Christie campaign. Overall, for every dollar Clinton receives, 19 go to Republican candidates.
Dan Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers owner and Quicken Loans founder, is among the most enthusiastic supporters of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's presidential bid. Gilbert has contributed $750,000 to America Leads, a group promoting the Republican hopeful and remains steadfastly on board, even as Christie remains in a lower tier determined by recent polls.
Gov. Chris Christie is rejecting a call from the National Basketball Association's commissioner to join him in lobbying Congress to legalize sports betting across the nation. Christie said during a televised interview Monday night that it was "kind of crazy" for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to ask him to help with a legalization push when Silver is fighting efforts to make sports betting legal in New Jersey. Christie said the position represented a "bait and switch."
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The big man of basketball is endorsing the big man of politics. Newark-native Shaquille O’Neal is elbowing his way into the campaign scrum by backing the re-election of New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie in a television ad revealed days before the start of the NBA season and the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.
Shaquille O’Neal recalled today that his legendary basketball career truly began in a building right across the street from the Newark projects where he grew up: the local Boys & Girls Club. The 15-time NBA all-star said his father held down two jobs and his mother also worked, so they instructed him to go there after school. “That was a place where I was able to cultivate my dreams and create the character known as Shaq,” O’Neal told dozens of children at the Boys & Girls Club in Camden at a news conference with fellow Newark native Gov. Chris Christie this afternoon. “I walked into the gym and I said, ‘I could be better than Dr. J.’”
Commissioner David Stern scolded Gov. Christie and said New Jersey "has no idea what it's doing" by seeking to allow sports betting in the state in a deposition published Friday in the ongoing legal battle between the governor, the four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA. Stern and the heads of Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and the NCAA were questioned recently by lawyers representing the state as part of the leagues' lawsuit seeking to stop New Jersey from instituting sports gambling. "The one thing I'm certain of is New Jersey has no idea what it's doing and doesn't care because all it's interested in is making a buck or two, and they don't care that it's at our potential loss," Stern said when asked how the advent of sports betting in New Jersey would harm the NBA. "And wholly apart from the fact that a governor, who's a former U.S. Attorney, has chosen to attack a federal law which causes me pause for completely different reasons since I've at times sworn to similar oaths about upholding the law of the United States," Stern continued.
NBA commissioner David Stern scolded Gov. Christie and said New Jersey "has no idea what it's doing" by seeking to allow sports betting in the state in a deposition published Friday in the ongoing legal battle between the governor, the four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA. Stern and the heads of Major League Baseball, the NFL, NHL and NCAA were questioned recently by lawyers representing the state as part of the leagues' lawsuit seeking to stop New Jersey from instituting sports gambling. "The one thing I'm certain of is New Jersey has no idea what it's doing and doesn't care because all it's interested in is making a buck or two, and they don't care that it's at our potential loss," Stern said when asked how the advent of sports betting in New Jersey would harm the NBA. "And wholly apart from the fact that a governor, who's a former U.S. Attorney, has chosen to attack a federal law which causes me pause for completely different reasons since I've at times sworn to similar oaths about upholding the law of the United States," Stern continued.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig said in his deposition he was "appalled" that New Jersey would look to sports gambling as a fiscal solution. "I know states need money. I really mean that," he said. "I understand all the problems. Federal government needs money, going over a cliff, cities need money. Chris Christie needs money. But gambling is so ... the threat of gambling and to create more threat is to me -- I'm stunned. I know that people need sources of revenue, but you can't -- this is corruption in my opinion. "I have to say to you I'm appalled. I'm really appalled."
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In January, Gov. Chris Christie signed a law to allow sports betting at New Jersey's 12 casinos and four racetracks. In May, he said he would implement regulations without attempting to overturn the 1992 law. The regulations were published in July and are expected to become effective within the next two months.
Gov. Chris Christie doesn't have any fond farewells in store for the Nets, who play their final game in New Jersey tonight before the franchise moves to Brooklyn. "I'm not going to the Nets game tonight," he said during a press conference at Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, "and my message to the Nets is, 'Goodbye.'"
On a video uploaded to his official YouTube channel, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie torched the Nets for their decision to abandon his state, where the franchise has played since 1977. "I'm not going to the Nets game tonight and my message to the Nets is goodbye," Christie said, shrugging his shoulders and drinking from a water bottle as an audience applauded and laughed. "If you don't want to stay, we don't want you. Seriously, I'm not going to be in the business of begging people to stay here. That's one of the most beautiful arenas in America that they've had a chance to play in. It's in one of the country's most vibrant cities. "They want to leave here and go to Brooklyn? Good riddance. See you later."
One by one, commissioner David Stern will call the names of the newest NBA players Thursday in a building that won't have a team after the 2011-12 season. But Newark has some major players and is looking for more in its quest for an NBA team to call Prudential Center home after the Nets leave for Brooklyn. The most prominent booster is Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Governor Chris Christie, Devils owner and chairman of Devils Arena Entertainment Jeff Vanderbeek, and Newark native Shaquille O'Neal are behind Booker and want The Rock to continue its relationship with the NBA. "We're definitely engaging in conversations with folks who have put out feelers about the potential for our arena to host an NBA team," Booker said during a phone interview. "There are definitely a number of teams struggling in their current arenas. That gives me signs of hope. I think it's an uphill battle, but I think it's a winnable battle."
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