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PUTTING PLAYER EDUCATION AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST MATCH-FIXING
MAIN: Jean-François Reymond Education Ambassador for IBIA
Former professional basketball player and new IBIA Education Ambassador Jean-François Reymond outlines the case for athlete-focused integrity actions
o Mark Twain’s quote that
T“the only two certainties in life are death and taxes” should be added that, whatever rules are created to ensure fair competition people will try to game them. This is as true of sport as it is of any other area of economic activity. So as we approach the start of the new football season we must put the education of athletes at the forefront of the fight against match-fixing.
Fixing the result of sports events has been an unfortunate source of income for some athletes throughout the history of commercial sport, and the US is no exception. Most famously, Chicago White Sox players were banned for life for attempting to throw the 1919 World Series.
Thankfully, match-fixing in sport is not common, but it is persistent. And given the amount of money and opportunity in US sports the stakes are higher than ever; for the sports, the sports betting industry (that is defrauded by corrupters), the fans and, very importantly, the players themselves.
US sports are the most commercially successful in the world, and one of the primary reasons for this is the value they place on sporting integrity. Anything that challenges the perception of fairness and sporting integrity undermines their relationship with the fans, damages their brands and negatively impacts their bottom lines.
Sports integrity is also absolutely essential to the sports betting industry. If its customers get any sense that they are being cheated they will understandably withdraw their business. It is an existential issue for the industry, and as the US sports betting market continues to grow so does the industry’s vulnerability. This is why it commits so much resource to the fight against match-fixing and corruption in sport.
For the athlete, whether professional or amateur, the stakes are extremely high. Fixing, or trying to fix a match, or inadvertently breaking the rules to prevent match-fixing can mean suspension and fines, and can be career ending. The case of Calvin Ridley confirms that even for a relatively low-end offense – a total of $1,500 bet on football matches – the costs are high; a minimum 1-year suspension and millions of dollars in lost salary.
For a player of his ability there is a way back. For others, the conveyer belt of talent coming out of the US college system means there is no need for any coach to risk employing somebody with a compromised reputation.
There is no magic bullet for ensuring sports integrity. It requires coordinated action from multiple
stakeholders, including the leagues, teams, policy makers, regulators and law enforcement. We need to raise the standards of sports governance and have policies and regulation that fully support the fight against match-fixing and corruption.
Regulators and law enforcement also need access to the most advanced tools, such as the International Betting Integrity Association’s (IBIA) international monitoring and alert network, to identify suspicious betting activities and support their investigations.
It is an unfortunate truth, however, that corrupting sporting events and betting is very difficult without the active involvement of players. And today’s athletes, whether they are unpaid high-profile college sports players, albeit potentially receiving compensation at the margin through name, image and likeness (NIL) activities, or low-ranking tennis players, they are still vulnerable to corruptors. While the immediate financial rewards may be tempting, most athletes do not fully understand the significant risks of being caught, and the damage to their reputations and careers they are risking. Other times players make mistakes themselves.
That is why player education has to be central to the fight against matchfixing, and the starting point for doing this successfully is to understand the challenges they face.
In their day-to-day lives, athletes are constantly solicited by family members, by fans, by clubs, by agents. They often come from challenging socio-economic backgrounds. They have to deal with a lot, and at a very young age. It’s not always about their sport. It can be very hard to understand what’s important and what is not, and who has their best interests at heart.
The importance of sports betting education is increased by the complexity and particular challenges faced in many of these markets. In the US, for example, the fragmented state-by-state regulatory environment means that it is very easy for a travelling athlete to inadvertently violate betting regulations whilst playing in another state.
The risks for athletes are also compounded by the rise of social media and the smartphone, which makes it easier to bet from anywhere, and also provides match-fixers with an additional channel through which they can approach and cultivate athletes.
For organisations like IBIA, protecting the integrity of sport means protecting the integrity of athletes. That is why it has been so heavily involved - first in Europe, and more recently in the US - in player education. My experience, working with IBIA, but also independently, suggests that there are number of factors that are absolutely fundamental to successful player education.
Firstly, the messenger is crucial. Anybody who has spent time in a sports locker room knows that the usual corporate talking head with
their power point presentation is not the way to go. Athletes need to be able to relate to and trust the person they are talking to. Ex-athletes, player association staff, people who have been there and done it, and have direct access to the players, are the best educators.
Secondly, the messages themselves need to be simple and clear. This is why IBIA’s education programme is now built around the three R’s: rules, responsibility and reporting. And these messages must be illustrated with real life examples. To convey the reality of the risks that they face as individuals and the methods adopted by corrupters to try and draw sportspeople into this illicit activity.
Protecting the integrity of sport means protecting the integrity of athletes. That is why, at a minimum, sports betting integrity education should be a standard element of every sport’s training for athletes.
Biography
Jean-François Reymond
IBIA Education Ambassador
After a sporting career in professional basketball, JeanFrançois joined the sport trade union movement where he started his second professional career.
For more than 10 years he worked for the French basketball player association (SNB), then was hired in 2017 by the French rugby player association (PROVALE) to become their CEO. After 24 months, he decided to leave the organization and had the opportunity to work for the French employment administration in France in charge of the sport projects.
In 2021 he started his own company “HURDLER” a concierge services for athletes on administrative and legal issues. At the same time, he is consulting for different organization working in the field of sport and on sport betting in particular.
In January 2022 he became IBIA “Education Ambassador” to the organization create and implement their education strategy on the risks of matchfixing amongst different stakeholders in US and Canada.
Jean-François’s experience in the field of sport integrity is well known in Europe since he was the coordinator of 3 European Commission funded project aiming to educate professional athletes on the risks of match-fixing and helping player associations to create programs to protect whistleblowers. He was also a member of the French National integrity and sports betting platform from 2016 to 2019.
Personal Information
Full Name: Jean-François Reymond Hometown: Alès, France
Education:
High School: Lycée Bellevue, Alès, France, 1998 Graduate: University of Lyon, 2005 • Licence in Sport Management Graduate: Sorbonne University, 2009 • Bachelor in Sports Law Graduate: University of Lyon, 2019 • Master in Sport Management Graduate: Sorbonne University, 2020 • Master in Sports Law
Professional basketball player (1998 – 2010)
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