Michael Shipp, the judge who granted a temporary restraining order preventing New Jersey from legalizing sports gambling in the state, is the brother of former NFL running back Marcel Shipp. Some supporters of sports betting in the Garden State say that’s a conflict of interest.
Marcel Shipp played for the Cardinals from 2001 to 2007 and has expressed interest in coaching in the NFL (he is currently an assistant at his alma mater, UMass, and has participated in the NFL’s minority coaching fellowship program). According to some advocates of sports gambling in New Jersey, that calls into question the partiality of his brother, the judge who handed down the ruling the NFL wanted to prevent the state from beginning its plan to allow sports gambling at racetracks and casinos.
State Sen. Raymond Lesniak told the Asbury Park Press that Judge Shipp should recuse himself from the sports gambling case because of “a strong appearance of a conflict of interest that could compromise Judge Shipp’s ability to make an objective decision.’’
Gaming attorney Daniel Wallach agreed, saying he’s not accusing Judge Shipp of wrongdoing but is suggesting that it’s reasonable to ask whether the judge can be unbiased given that a close family member may want to work in the NFL.
“It’s not whether the judge is biased, but whether his impartiality can be questioned. That question is clearly there,’’ said Wallach, who has also written about the issue.
The NFL has long opposed any expansion of sports gambling, and Judge Shipp’s ruling was a victory for the league. Supporters of gambling understandably would like to see Judge Shipp benched -- even if it sounds like a stretch to suggest that his brother’s connection to the NFL calls his impartiality into question.
