NCAA wants states to ban player prop bets (all other sports should want it, too)

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When it comes to a team sport, it's hard for an individual player to impact the outcome of a wager. When the wager relates directly to the individual player, it becomes a lot easier.

That's the reality of the prop bet, the wager tied to one specific player's performance in a given game. It's a bet that (in my own personal opinion) bastardizes the concept of sport and turns the player into a literal prop in an organic casino, no different than dice on a craps table, cards on a blackjack table, or the steel ball on a roulette wheel.

It's also particularly susceptible to undue influence. If gambling interests can sidle up to a player and, at the right time, get him to leave a game early with a phantom injury, all of the player's under props will hit.

For that reason, the NCAA wants the various states where gambling on sports has been legalized to ban all prop bets.

"Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed," NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement, via TheHill.com. "The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats, and many are responding by banning college prop bets. . . . The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game — issues across the country these last [several] days shows there is more work to be done."