Controversy was sparked in the NBA world when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Draft Lottery on Monday, securing the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. The Mavericks received massive criticism during the regular season for trading away franchise superstar Luka Doncic.
As a result of the Mavericks, who had a 1.8% chance at the No. 1 pick, winning the lottery, NFL fans are making it crystal clear that they want no part of an NFL Draft Lottery.
One exception is ESPN's Mike Greenberg, who is most known for being a massive New York Jets fan. On Tuesday's episode of Get Up, Greenberg made the case that a lottery for any sport, and the NFL especially, is a massive benefit. The lottery theoretically discourages teams from tanking, with Greenberg declaring that tanking "runs contrary to literally everything sports is designed to be."
"[Adam Silver] recognizes, as does every sports fan, that tanking is a scourge. Tanking is a disgrace. Tanking runs contrary to literally everything sports is designed to be. Incentivizing losing is the worst mistake any sport can possibly make... People saying, 'oh, this isn't working because the worst teams aren't getting the pick.' Shut up! That's exactly the wrong way to look at it. Win games... the NFL should add this. Every sport should add this. The lottery is a brilliant idea."
"I just did the NFL Draft... the number of people who said to me coming out of Green Bay, 'well we'll just suck this year and get Arch Manning'... shut up! Win games for crying out loud... it should never benefit a team to lose any game that is being played."
Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz was one of many fans who vehemently disagreed disagreed with Greenberg. Schwartz specifically pointed to Greenberg's Jets allegiance, suggesting that Greenberg would have a different perspective if his beloved Jets were in a position to land the top quarterback in a draft.
“If the Jets tanked this season and drafted QB1 do you think Greeny would have this same take for his favorite team?” Schwartz wrote on X.