Tag: NHL

Source: NBC Sports

For years, the professional sports leagues avoid Las Vegas as a home for any of their franchises. Now, the NHL introduced the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The NFL just approved the Oakland Raiders move to Vegas. And earlier today posted on the NBC Sports website was an article regarding a businessman, Dennis Hof, planning to open a brothel in honor of the Raiders.

So, what is the attraction to the golden desert town known as Sin City? Is it the legalized prostituton? Is it the legalized gambling and casinos? Is it the weather? Maybe, the question we should be considering what are the drawbacks?

Most teams, especially coaches, and agents become concerned over distractions an athlete can face which could hurt their performance and marketability. Las Vegas is a city filled with distractions . . . restaurants, brothels, casinos, wild parties, organized crime are all natural events in the Vegas.

But so are the opportunities to legitimize Vegas. With the exception of the crime, all of those events are legal in Vegas which allows the athlete the opportunity to avoid criminal activity he could face in other professional sports cities. But they are still distractions. Therefore, it will be up to those teams in Las Vegas to establish strong rules for their players to follow. And more importantly, it will be up to those teams to make sure to enforce those rules or lose control of their franchise quickly.

It may be wise for the Vegas teams to find athletes who are of strong character and even stronger discipline.