Paying to Win

In the blood sport that is the democratic primary, where low blows and cheap shots are all part of the game, it would be naïve to think that there are actually any rules of fair play, but I was still a bit surprised this week to hear talk of Obama potentially agreeing to assume Hillary's campaign debt in exchange for her dropping out of the race. Paying off a competitor to throw the match just doesn't seem kosher. But then maybe it's all about context? Even in professional sports, the business of "incentivizing" behavior is not cut-and-dry. Black Sox type dealings are clearly verboten, but what about paying another team in your league to win?

There are many times at the end of seasons, where Team A, which has little to play for, comes up against Team B, which has everything in the world at stake. In these situations, is there anything wrong with Team C, which is battling with Team B for a playoff spot or a regular season championship, offering a bit of "encouragement" to Team A to fight as hard as they can?

In Spain’s La Liga, there was much talk at the close of last season that exactly such “incentivizing” was going on. The Catalan press first announced that Real Madrid had offered a hefty sum to Getafe players to beat Barcelona and to Zargoza players to beat Sevilla in order to secure the title for the Bernabeau faithful. Madrid journalists then shot back that Barcelona had offered Deportivo players money to beat Real Madrid. Adding fuel to the fire, the Real Madrid president, Ramon Calderon, announced on the radio that he “didn’t see any problem” with paying bonuses to other teams’ players, as long as it was for winning.

My personal feeling is that this kind of scheming should be left to the fantasy leagues and has no place on the soccer pitch, the basketball court, or anywhere else. That said, I’m not trying to win an election this fall. If I was, maybe I’d see things differently. Anyway, Senator McCain, if you're reading this post, I know you talk a good game about “ethics” and “campaign finance” but if you actually want the keys to the Oval Office come January, maybe you should think about getting into the Hillary bribery action. The fact is, the longer she’s in the race, the better it is for you. Why leave that to chance? The best part is she might actually say yes. After all, unlike Obama's deal, with you she gets to have her cake and eat it to: no more debt and the opportunity to stick around until the convention.