The NBA asked for this embarrassment.

It was only too happy to jump in bed with legalized gambling, thinking it could take the gaming industry’s money but inoculate itself from its seedy underbelly with a few terse warnings to its players and somber PSAs for fans.

It doesn’t work that way, though. There is always a price to pay for greed and associating with unsavory people, and the NBA’s bill just came due.

Rather than praise for Victor Wembanyama or debates about whether the New York Knicks are the real deal, the NBA woke up Thursday to find itself at the center of a massive betting scandal. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones all were arrested as part of a yearslong investigation into illegal gambling rings. With ties to the mafia, no less!

Billups was charged in connection with an illegal poker operation while Rozier was accused of manipulating his play during a game to benefit bettors. Jones was charged in both cases.

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness,” the NBA said in a statement, “and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

Too bad the NBA ceded their right to that high ground long ago.

NBA embraced legalized sports betting

It is true that the NBA does not have a direct role in this scandal. But the enthusiastic embrace of legalized gambling by the league, as well as the NFL, Major League Baseball and just about every other sports organization, has fostered an environment where there are no guardrails.

When the NBA’s own website has a Fantasy page listing “authorized gaming partners and operators,” why should Rozier think it’s a big deal to take a play or two off to help out some bettors? When the NBA allows DraftKings to offer a “promotion” that includes three free months of NBA League Pass, why should Billups question whether it’s a good idea to partake in a shady poker ring?

When the NBA has no problem with its teams having sports books at their arenas, how can it demand that players and coaches keep the gaming industry at arm’s length? When the NBA is sending such mixed messages — problems from gambling are bad! but profits from gambling are good! — why should anyone respect the league’s moral authority?

The league opened the door to this, all of it, and it cannot be surprised or indignant now that it’s gone sideways.

Dangers of sports betting came hand-in-hand with profits

There was a reason every sports entity in the United States resisted any association with legalized gambling for as long as they did. They knew the troubles it would bring because they saw it playing out in real-time overseas. Corrupt people trying to influence games. Gambling addictions. Players being threatened or harassed by bettors and, worse, organized crime.

Ultimately, though, the money was just too good to pass up. NBA commissioner Adam Silver even wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in 2014 encouraging widespread legalization of sports betting. For the good of humanity, of course. People were already gambling, Silver said, so why not bless it?

“I believe that sports betting should be brought out of the underground and into the sunlight where it can be appropriately monitored and regulated,” Silver wrote then.

What’s a little integrity when there are billions in potential profits to be had, right?

By giving their approval to legalized gambling, the NBA and other leagues might as well have handed an arsonist a match.

There is no daylight between gaming and its toxic byproducts, especially when smartphones make irresponsible gambling and abuse of players so easy. Warnings posted in small print, be they in locker rooms or online, are no match for human frailties, temptations and fears, and the NBA owns today’s shame as much as Billups, Rozier, Jones and everyone else who was arrested.

The NBA was well aware of the dangers that come with sports betting and it didn’t care because it wanted the gaming industry’s money more. There’s no more damning indictment than that.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.

INGLEWOOD, CA — In prime time, and in front of a national audience, the Los Angeles Chargers got back in the winner’s column.

Justin Herbert and the Chargers routed the Minnesota Vikings 37-10 to improve to 5-3.

The Chargers took control of the game early. Herbert led the Chargers on three touchdown drives in the first half as team took a commanding 21-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Vikings couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half and their defense provided little resistance as the Chargers were able to pad their lead.

Carson Wentz threw an interception with 12:02 remaining in the fourth quarter that prompted fans to head for the exits.

USA TODAY Sports was at SoFi Stadium for Thursday night’s Vikings vs. Chargers contest. Here are the winners and losers from the interconference matchup:

Winners

Record-setting Justin Herbert

Herbert completed 18-of-25 passes for 227 yards, to go with three touchdowns and one interception. The quarterback was in command and efficient for most of the contest.

Herbert has 2,146 career completions, the most completions ever by a player in his first six seasons.

Herbert entered Week 8 leading the league in passing yards (1,913) and ranked second in completions (183).

Chargers rushing offense

Th Chargers rushed for a season-high 207 yards.

Running back Kimani Vidal rushed 23 times for 117 yards and one touchdown.  

The Chargers’ season-high output on the ground came without first-round pick RB Omarion Hampton (ankle) who is on injured reserve.

Oronde Gadsden II shines

A week after producing 164 receiving yards, the fourth-most ever by a rookie tight end in a game in NFL history, Oronde Gadsden II tallied five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.  

The Chargers found themselves a starting tight end for the present and future in Gadsden.

Slot receiver Ladd McConkey had a team-high six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.  

Chargers D

The Chargers defense held Minnesota to four first downs, 93 yards and three points in the first half. Minnesota’s only touchdown drive came on a short field after a Justin Herbert interception.

The Vikings only gained 164 yards of total offense and went 3-for-11 on third downs.

The Chargers played most of the game without star safety Derwin James who suffered an ankle injury in the first half. No Derwin, no problem: rookie safety RJ Mickens had an interception in the fourth quarter that convinced fans to beat the traffic.

Control-Alt-deleted the Vikings

Chargers standout tackle Joe Alt returned to the lineup after injuring his ankle in Week 4. He had an instant impact as he help stabilize the Chargers O-line.

Thursday best

The Chargers wore their modern throwback all navy uniforms for Thursday’s primetime game. After their popular powder blue unis, it’s probably the second-most visually appealing set they have in the closet.

Losers

The Vikings offense….

Wentz, who had a brace on his left arm, was under duress for much of the game. He was sacked five times and hit eight. He finished with just 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception.  

Wentz was on the injury report with a left shoulder injury leading up to the game. He didn’t look like he was 100%.

Justin Jefferson was a bright spot for the Vikings, as the wide receiver surpassed 8,000 career receiving yards in the matchup. He’s the fastest player to reach 8,000 receiving yards in the Super Bowl era.

…and the Vikings defense…

Vikings CB Isaiah Rodgers had an interception overturned when he didn’t maintain possession of the football on the Chargers first offensive series. It was a huge missed opportunity that would’ve given Minnesota some much-needed momentum.

The Vikings defense gave up 266 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Minnesota trailed 21-3 at halftime.

The Chargers compiled 419 yards and a season-high 37 points on Minnesota’s defense.

…and the Vikings’ travel itinerary.

The Vikings had international games Week 4 in Ireland and Week 5 in London, followed by a cross country trip to Los Angeles in Week 8. The team played jetlagged on Thursday night.

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.

• It’s easy to be cynical in an era of scandal and fake news, but let’s not allow our faith in sports to be fractured just yet.
• From Shohei Ohtani to Victor Wembanyama to Damar Hamlin, sport still delivers the authentically unexpected, which is something to celebrate.

“This game is rigged.”

“Can’t believe the script had that team winning.”

“Player X is freezing out Player Y because he’s facing him in fantasy this week.”

Most of us have expressed similar sentiments over the years about the sports we watch. In jest.

But Thursday’s shocking revelation that the FBI indicted more than 30 people allegedly linked to a gambling scandal tied to the NBA served to do exactly what pro sports leagues used to fear about any association with betting: rocking the public’s confidence in the integrity of the sports it consumes.

Should we be all that surprised? Really?

Warning alarms have blared since 2018, when the Supreme Court loosened regulations on sports wagering – opening the industry to states far afield from the formerly singular legal sports betting bastion that is Las Vegas. It wasn’t long after that when pro leagues like the NFL began doing what had previously been unthinkable (and taboo) − partnering with betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings and even allowing sportsbooks to advertise in conjunction with their most premium content: games.

For years, we’ve been trying to parse authentic news from fake, while elected officials – and apparently even Justice Department lawyers at this point – wantonly lie. Many of us have become increasingly desensitized to it. Others actually embrace it.

How are we supposed to know if a pro player is shaving points? Or trafficking insider injury information? It’s not like players across the pro sports spectrum haven’t incurred suspensions in recent years for myriad violations, including betting on games involving their teams. It happens, the respective commissioner touts his league’s gambling guardrails, and everyone basically moves on.

Now the FBI, at a time when its own credibility is under fire, has stepped in to throw a fragmentary grenade into the NBA’s operation. Yet how much will fans care what Damon Jones or Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier or Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups purportedly did a week from now? Or even tomorrow? How long before Adam Silver, if he wanted, could hire Vince McMahon as a creative consultant, and no one would blink? And what does it all matter if there’s a metaverse where the New York Jets are the babyface dynasty while the Kansas City Chiefs are the weekly tomato cans?

Easy as it is to be cynical, let’s not allow our faith in sports to be irreparably fractured just yet. There are too many talented athletes working too hard for championship glory – much less simply putting food on the table – and have too much integrity and honor to believe this is all a systemic ruse. (Not for nothing, there are also far too many incapable of keeping a secret this big for us to begin dismissing the veracity of what we see from the couch, press box, upper deck or sideline.)

And while LeBron James has somehow exceeded all the hype that’s been heaped on him for more than a quarter-century – even if Jones apparently profited from knowing how healthy he was – leagues that aren’t actually scripted had no room for would-be leading men like Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel, Markelle Fultz or Darko Miličić, none lasting despite apparently emanating from central casting.

We should feel comforted that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was (is?) nearly incomparable as a professional wrestler but not good enough to play in the NFL − and apparently doesn’t have sufficient business acumen beyond making movies and tequila to make the UFL anything more than the fringe football league its forebears have always been.

Sports never have been, nor will be, a pure meritocracy – contracts, public relations, personalities and the like perpetually exert varying influences. Yet so much of the unparalleled excellence and unimaginable tragedy – not to mention the mundane Week 8 NFL game or Tuesday night NBA contest – are too compelling to be authored by some athletic puppet master. Or sullied by shysters. Not when you see what Shohei Ohtani and George Springer just managed in order to create their World Series matchup. Not when you see the New York Giants find a way to lose an 18-point lead in the final six minutes of a game. Not when you see a 7-foot-5, 245-pound player like Victor Wembanyama run the break … unless he decides to pull up and pop a three. Not when Damar Hamlin nearly dies on a football field before he and his career are revived.

Don’t tell me those moments were or could be orchestrated. Our sports aren’t the WWE writ large (not that wrestling’s ardent fans would care).

May they never be.

TORONTO — The Los Angeles Dodgers will be without left-handed reliever Alex Vesia for at least the first two games of the World Series after the club announced that he and his wife were dealing with a “deeply personal family matter.’

Vesia and his wife, Kayla, have been expecting their first child.

“The entire Dodgers organization is sending our thoughts to the Vesia family,’ the Dodgers said in a statement, “and we will provide an update at a later date.’

The Dodgers now have the option, according to an MLB official, of placing Vesia on the “family medical emergency list.’ If Vesia is placed on leave, he would be required to stay for a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days.

Vesia, who has pitched for the Dodgers since 2021, has been one of their valuable left-handed relievers. He pitched in 68 games during the regular season with a 3.02 ERA and five saves, and appeared in seven of the Dodgers’ 11 postseason games, yielding three hits and striking out four in 4 ⅔ innings.

Veteran reliever Tanner Scott could replace Vesia on the roster. Scott, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract last winter, struggled during the season and lost his closer’s job to Roki Sasaki. He did not pitch the first round of the postseason against the Cincinnati Reds and had been left off the postseason roster the last two rounds after undergoing an abscess incision prodecdure on his lower body.

“I think right now, we’re in the mode of trying to understand the process, the rules, a way that we could sort of try to navigate the roster,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “So I think we have a little bit of time (10 a.m. ET, Friday)  to finalize our roster. But, yeah, we’re going through the process of trying to backfill his spot on the roster. …

“Honestly, I think we’re just going day-to-day with really no expectations.’’

If there was ever a day for Amazon Prime announcer Al Michaels to avoid mentioning sports betting lines for a ‘Thursday Night Football’ game, it would have been Oct. 23.

Hours after the NBA was rocked by a massive sports betting scandal, Michaels was on air discussing the gambling implications of a field goal attempt in the final minutes of the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Minnesota Vikings game.

‘You know, occasionally, a game like this, you think it is over, but it’s not quite over,’ Michaels said, seemingly referencing the game’s over/under line. ‘You know what I mean? I’ll be punished again – what can I tell you? It’s close to being over. I don’t want to call it ‘over’ with three minutes to go.’

The pregame over/under line for the Chargers’ win on Oct. 23 was set at 44.5 points. Michaels started referring to the line in the final three minutes of the game as the Chargers played out their final drive with 44 total points on the board.

‘Sometimes you never know when that half will destroy you,’ Michaels said, referencing the 0.5 points still necessary at that point of the game for an ‘over’ bet to hit.

When Chargers kicker Cameron Dicker lined up for a 45-yard field goal attempt moments later, Michaels returned to referencing the betting line.

‘Meanwhile, you have a 45-yard attempt, which will draw a little interest,’ he said.

Dicker knocked down the 45-yarder, leading to Michaels’ final betting-related comment of the night:

‘And there it is,’ he said as the ball sailed through the uprights. ‘Now you can say it is ‘over.”