A news release from the B.C. Lottery Corporation came into my inbox this morning with the headline: “Jim Benning: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?”
It was about the fact that people can now wager on if the general manager of the Vancouver Canucks will get fired.
“After making a splash at the NHL Draft in his trade for J.T. Miller, and on the eve of NHL Free Agency, will Jim Benning’s bold moves lead to him returning as the Vancouver Canucks’ General Manager in 2020? Canucks fans and B.C. bettors have the opportunity to wager on PlayNow.com if Benning will be extended and remain the club’s GM for the 2020-21 season.”
That seems pretty tacky. Actually, it’s pretty disgusting.
Look, I am not a Benning fan. I've argued on Twitter that the team would be better off without him, but that’s part of sports. People love to argue about the direction of their sports teams and criticize management. It's been happening since the beginning of organized sports.
But asking people to bet on if the GM is going to get fired feels like another level of yuck. Winning money at the expense of someobdy's job would feel gross. Are the folks at BCLC really that desperate that they have to dive down into the gutter asking for bets on somebody’s employment status?
Getting fired or laid off or whatever sucks for anyone. It hurts, even if you make as much money as Benning does. It’s humiliating to get fired in the public eye – asking people to bet on that humiliation is inhumane.
It’s a cliché, but the folks at BCLC should be ashamed of themselves.
UPDATE: BCLC has taken down a link to the page where you could be on Benning getting canned. Now you can just bet on if the Canucks will sign free agent defenceman Tyler Myers - please, nnnnoooooooo! I think BCLC should have addressed the issue with at least a news release saying it had made the change. Seems a bit cowardly.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
