At the age of 24, Joe orchestrated the ASU Basketball Point-Shaving Scandal, arguably the single largest scandal of its kind in sports history. It generated headlines and millions of dollars. It also led to several prison sentences and the ends of multiple promising careers.
In the moment Joe made the decision to fix those games, he forever became linked to that story and the consequences that followed.
But the decision Joe made to place those calls and fix those bets happened long before he met the cast of characters who would become his cohorts and confidants.
The decision started when Joe first stepped into the grey area as a younger man. Joe made the rationalization so many of us make: By twisting the odds in our favor, there’s a lot of money to be made. What Joe didn’t confront until later in life is that eventually, the twists and turns catch up with you.
Rather than look back at those decisions with shame, Joe has chosen to own who he was, who he is, and the consequences he experienced – so that he can lend his insight and his knowledge to others. So maybe some college kid on a campus holding a ball makes a decision that earns less in the short term, but costs less down the road.
In Joe’s book, No Grey Areas, he tells the true, unfiltered, and raw story of one of sports’ greatest scandals, the consequences thereafter, and his own path to redemption.
If you’re not a reader of books, that’s just fine with Joe. His thoughts, learnings and lessons are shared here – in video and on Joe’s blog. He invites you to take a look.
If you are a reader, and you’d enjoy a story that goes from the North side of Chicago to the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade to Las Vegas, passing through airport security with millions of dollars in a duffel bag, well, you’re gonna like this one.