Padres' Tucupita Marcano Receives Lifetime Ban for Betting on MLB
The Facts
San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano received a lifetime ban from MLB on Tuesday for violating the league’s gambling policy, according to a league announcement.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan became the first active player to be permanently banned for gambling since 1924, when New York Giants outfield Jimmy O’Connell was barred from the sport. Marcano used a legal sportsbook to make more than 387 bets on baseball totaling $150K.
The Spin
Tucupita Marcano broke one of sports’ most sacred rules, throwing away his MLB career in the process. For 100 years, no MLB player had been banned for betting on his own team, and the league managed to keep baseball largely free of nefarious gambling. However, Marcano broke that stretch by forgetting, or blatantly disregarding the rules. Perhaps Marcano thought he could bet since he wasn’t playing in any of the games, but regardless, his actions have brought shame upon himself and MLB.
While Marcano may be the first player in a century to receive a lifetime ban from MLB, he almost certainly won’t be the last. Like many other professional leagues, MLB opened up a can of worms by teaming up with sportsbooks and promoting gambling. With access to legal gambling at their fingertips, it was only a matter of time before young men in sports started placing wagers. While each player is responsible for his own actions, MLB and other leagues share culpability in the gambling crisis that awaits the
