Pointless

ON November 23, two former Northwestern basketball players, Kenneth Dion Lee and Dewey Williams, were convicted of sports bribery for fixing three games during the 1995 season. Lee had received $4,000 from a bookie for shaving points and Williams $700. Ever since the scandal broke a year ago, the sports pundits on ESPN and elsewhere have been demanding that Messrs. Lee and Williams be dealt with severely. And they were—the penalties handed down included not just fines but short prison sentences.

In justifying the jail sentence, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle said: “It is important that the public knows when an athlete is playing college sports that they [sic] are doing so to the best of their abilities.” But of the many things in life that are important, knowing that college athletes are trying their hardest is far down the list. In fact, it is unclear why throwing up a brick or dribbling a ball off of a foot should be a federal crime at all—even if done intentionally.

About the Author

Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore is a co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, a senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a senior economic adviser to the Trump campaign.

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ON November 23, two former Northwestern basketball players, Kenneth Dion Lee and Dewey Williams, were convicted of sports bribery for fixing three games during the 1995 season. Lee had received $4,000 from a bookie for shaving points and Williams $700. Ever since the scandal broke a year ago, the sports pundits on ESPN and elsewhere have been demanding that Messrs. Lee and Williams be dealt with severely. And they were—the penalties handed down included not just fines but short prison sentences.

In justifying the jail sentence, U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle said: “It is important that the public knows when an athlete is playing college sports that they [sic] are doing so to the best of their abilities.” But of the many things in life that are important, knowing that college athletes are trying their hardest is far down the list. In fact, it is unclear why throwing up a brick or dribbling a ball off of a foot should be a federal crime at all—even if done intentionally.

About the Author

Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore is a co-founder of Unleash Prosperity, a senior visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and a senior economic adviser to the Trump campaign.