Bobby Wolff

FRIGHTENING PRESENT-DAY LIKENESSES BETWEEN BASEBALL AND BRIDGE

In an article from my local newspaper, dated December 16th, a well-known sports writer for Newsday, Shaun Powell,  has said, "… Baseball is big business.  Big business generates big money.  Big money attracts greed, corruption and cheating…" 

It might be stretching it some to now call professional bridge a big-time business, so let us compromise and say it is a medium-size business, but on the upswing.  To the various increasing numbers of bridge professionals this has to be good news, but let us examine it a bit further.  Up to now bridge could not compare with baseball and it still cannot, but some of the same statements may and will apply.  We will need soon (and today comes to mind) to establish an administrative division in bridge which is prepared to handle any and all serious problems which might occur. Our present setup is inept.

By our sloth, and totally unrelated to sponsorship money, the ACBL over the years welcomed two celebrated cheats, to grace our hallowed Hall of Fame, a testimony to the weakness of those making powerful and far-reaching decisions. Are we going to be naive enough to believe that, under the present system which exists, we will be able to control all of which may happen, particularly in lieu of the Internet quickly becoming an integral part of our playing and viewing the game?  As all of us may realize that the Internet, while being a wonderful marketing tool for creating interest among new players as well as being a vehicle for conducting tournaments, is fraught with security problems with no real solutions to them on the horizon.  We desperately need to set up a way of handling our immediate future or else prepare for a complicated never-ending chaotic situation to challenge the future of any kind of bridge.

Since all indications tell us that, because so many of our top bridge players and potential administrators are already involved in the expansion, we will need to think deeply and possibly scour the country to find the right people to lead us out of our self-imposed predicament.

Can’t we all envision, many years from now, a bunch of apes sitting around their rock formations on earth playing the game, wondering how bridge came into being and naming a premature double of an obvious slam, "A flesh colored person double"!


5 Comments

ColinDecember 19th, 2007 at 9:05 am

Cheating in bridge, much like as in baseball – suffers from the same problem – a strong lack of punishments.

As you say, celebrated cheats in the hall of fame (in both baseball and bridge) – cheating in Bridge might get you temporarily suspended, but a simple threat of a lawsuit brings you right back in.

In baseball – if they want cheating to stop they need to make the penalty really bad. The penalty for gambling on baseball is a lifetime suspension; for steroids 25 days.

You want to stop cheating in bridge (or at least significantly reduce it) – make the penalty a lifetime ban. It is NOT acceptable to cheat and we should reach the point where people should realize that and the punishment for abusing the game should be that you can no longer play it in sanctions tournaments.

LindaDecember 19th, 2007 at 3:46 pm

Unfortunately in our society there is a lot of cheating in everything. People cheat on their income tax, buy essays off the web, bring back too much across the border coming home from the holiday and lie about it etc. Cheating seems to be acceptable if you can get away with it. Until we change the way our society looks at cheating as a whole we are unlikely to get rid of it in sports or games. Players will cheat as long as they think they can get away with it. Enforcement is difficult because the more obstacles you place the more clever the crooks become.

Ray LeeDecember 26th, 2007 at 12:37 pm

It has always struck me how easy it is to cheat at bridge. That being the case, and that being human nature, people will do it. I agree with Colin — the only possible solution is to make the penalty a lifetime ban, no matter who you are. Don’t see it happening, though — the ACBL doesn’t have the guts.

Judy Kay-WolffDecember 26th, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Responding to Linda’s comments that “in our society there is a lot of cheating …” There is no denying that premise. We cannot control people cheating on their income tax as that is within the realm of the IRS; nor can we do anything about sneaking unreported purchases across the border without declaring them as we have no authority in that area either.

However, we should be able to control and eradicate BRIDGE CHEATING AND ANY TYPE OF IMPROPRIETIES, FOR THAT MATTER, in both ACBL functions and International play wherein the U. S. Representatives are accountable to the USBF (United States Bridge Federation).

The problems seem to lie in the strength (or weakness) of the organizations themselves, or more specifically, the committees governing the subject issue/s.

The underlying difficulty is twofold: (1) Fear of blackening the name of the game (which has already been accomplished over the years); and (2) Fear of law suits, personal financial annihilation and litigation against the organization itself.

Perhaps if those in charge of the League in the early days had the foresight, guts and determination to keep the game free and clear of cheating and blatant unethical behavior, they would have fearlessly challenged those where unrefuted evidence and proof were presented. Had they overcome those hurdles, perhaps half a decade later we would not be faced with identical dilemmas of how the matters should be adjudicated.

In my opinion (shared by many others), the people in the key positions are unqualified and too inexperienced to rule from their high perches. Perhaps leadership is the major stumbling block and until that issue is resolved — cheating, unethical behavior, personal agendas and all the other ugly obstacles that we are facing will continue and eventually interest in our hobby will dwindle as it is no longer the once dignified and honorable game we all knew. These issues cannot be resolved by the IRS or the Border Patrol or Customs Inspectors –only by the constituents of the organization making their positions heard loud and clear by rising up against the present structures that exist.

If nothing is done – the game is on a treacherous downhill course!

JUDY KAY-WOLFFMarch 5th, 2008 at 9:57 am

After reading Bobby’s recently released The Lone Wolff, he received the following gratifying note from Donna Chambers (wife of Neil Chambers — the other half of Schermer/Chambers), a classy, very formidable and respected twosome on the American bridge scene.

It read: With sincere appreciation for for your relentless, and obviously difficult, dedication to pressure, the integrity, quality and enjoyment of the game. I had no idea! I couldn’t agree more with your ideas and principles .

Loved your style of writing It mattered not that I didn’t know all of the characters.

I laughed and cried and frequently “clucked” in disgust. Congratulations.
I thank you and wish you and Judy all the best.

Donna

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