Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly rigging pitches to influence prop bets in a gambling scheme. The pair is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

This incident is part of a growing wave of gambling scandals in professional sports, including NBA figures implicated in mafia-linked poker games and stat-shaving plots, and UFC fighters approached to fix bouts.

On ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, co-host Tony Kornheiser described the charges against Clase and Ortiz as “rock solid” and warned that prop bets represent a “poisoned apple” tempting athletes.

Michael Wilbon, an ESPN stalwart for many, many years, had a very different take. An odd reaction to the massive scandals.

*Yawn*

Why? Because the prop bets, in his view, did not affect the integrity of the games.

Michael Wilbon on gambling scandals – No big deal

While Kornheiser is urging MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to curb the prop bet issue to prevent a “flood” of similar problems, Wilbon is essentially shrugging his shoulders on the matter.

Wilbon agreed that the players deserve punishment if guilty but dismissed broader concerns about the scandal’s impact on the game’s integrity.

“I mean, you know the rules,” Wilbon explained, noting that all athletes are ingrained with the fact that skewing any aspect of their sport for gambling purposes destroys the integrity of the game. “It’s explained over and over to you, in seminars –”

“You’re defrauding the game!” Kornheiser agreed.

“Yes,” said Wilbon. “And you know what, Tony? I don’t care.”

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Don’t care?!

Kornheiser was clearly surprised by Michael Wilbon’s reaction, responding with a startled, “Really?”

His co-host suggested that since everyone is betting, it’s not a big deal, which is absurd. These athletes are accused of faking an injury and intentionally throwing bad pitches to allow a select few to profit quickly.

In the case of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, he allegedly bailed on his team with a fake injury, which would not only have affected his prop bets, as alleged in the criminal complaints, but also would have impacted his team’s ability to win.

“Because at the highest levels of pyramids in this country, in this culture, everybody’s betting now,” Wilbon said. “It’s on every phone except yours and mine.”

Those are the fans. Any player receiving payment to help rig bets should be banned from the sport for life.

“But don’t you want it to be honest? Don’t you want it to be honest?” Kornheiser wondered, shouting.

“Does that affect the game?” a defiant Wilbon replied. “Does it tilt it in any way that matters to me?”

Ortiz and Clase are accused of tanking particular pitches. Some, like Michael Wilbon, might suggest that doing so is meaningless. One ball pitched? What if the pitcher then tossed three more? Walked the guy? What if the next batter belted an RBI double? What if their team lost 1-0?

It affects the integrity of the game. The fact that a sports analyst, on a network that airs commercials for sports betting apps throughout the day, doesn’t think so means ESPN agrees. The largest sports network in the world is promoting a message that fixing games or altering game situations is acceptable.