The NBA has taken a massive reputational hit in recent weeks following the gambling-related federal indictments.
“This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years,” claimed FBI Director Kash Patel at a scathing press conference.
Last week’s Quinnipiac University Sports Poll showed public trust in the NBA has eroded, with about half of Americans having serious concerns about fair play among players and coaches. The league’s image could be at an all-time low.
Is it possible that Google is helping the league regarding searches related to the integrity of the sport? Google and the NBA have multiple commercial relationships.
The NBA began its regular season in October.
‘Is the NBA Rigged?’
For some users, Google shows an unusual result for the query “is the NBA rigged”.
The Google AI Overview scolds you for asking the question and provides no additional sources, except for a Wikipedia page. It’s a bizarre result to the query, with one SEO expert Gambling Harm spoke to responding, “Whoa, this is a weird one.”
“The games are not rigged,” the AI overview response reads. “That’s a complete insult to the players on the court and the incredible amount of effort they put into preparing for and playing the games. All 82 regular season and postseason games. The NBA couldn’t rig the games if it wanted to.”
Here’s what it looks like for other users, depending on the location.
Additionally, for some users, searching for “is the NBA rigged” will not autocomplete like if you ask the same question for the NFL, NHL, or MLB, for example. This is also a bit strange.
Google, NBA Partnerships
The tech giant and the NBA have a deep, multi-layered commercial partnership.
Google Pixel is the “Official Fan Phone” of the NBA, G League, and NBA 2K League, and serves as presenting partner of the NBA Playoffs. The company also acts as the league’s Official Search Engine and Search Trends & Fan Insights Partner.
Historically, YouTube TV was the first-ever presenting partner of the NBA Finals and carried NBA League Pass as an add-on.
NBA Gambling Poll
The Quinnipiac poll asked numerous questions, but here was the most important:
“Overall, how confident are you that NBA games are played fairly, that is, without being influenced by players and coaches involved in illegal sports betting?”
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- Very confident: 8%
- Somewhat confident: 41%
- Not so confident: 34%
- Not at all confident: 14%
Fewer than 1-in-10 Americans are very confident that the game is not corrupted due to gambling. Approximately 4-in-10 respondents are concerned, while the rest hold a starkly bleak view of the NBA.
A generous interpretation of the data could suggest that most Americans still trust the NBA. However, among those who still trust the league, most believe there is still a chance it’s corrupted.
This story will be updated.
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