Sometimes the idiocy of entities around bribery strains credulity. Is it really that difficult to connect the dots around bribery and corruption when they are literally slapping you in the face? What does a government or regulatory body have to do to encourage folks to comply with anti-bribery laws such as the FCPA or UK Bribery Act? When it comes to the sport of international tennis, apparently it takes quite a bit.
The New York Times recently reported that the United States Tennis Association (USTA) allowed an umpire, Denis Pitner, who had his certification suspended after an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), to work as an umpire during the 2015 US Open. Pitner was suspended for “sending information on the physical well-being of a player to a coach during a tournament and regularly logging on to a betting account from which bets were placed on tennis matches.” This suspension was handed down some four weeks before the US Open began last year.
