Apparently the NFL has taken the moniker of Sin City a bit too seriously in its refusal to air commercials sponsored by Las Vegas during this year’s Super Bowl. Fearing the effect such ads could have on the “credibility” and “moral character” of the league, the NFL rejected the ads claiming the league did not associate itself with such criminal and immoral elements associated with the city.

But as Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman said, “It’s not as though the league has clean hands here.” Within the NFL, almost 21 percent of athletes have been subject to some legal trouble ranging from unpaid speeding and parking tickets to charges of espousal abuse, assault and even murder. That’s not to mention the starting offense of the Dallas Cowboys who hold one of the most notorious reputations this side of Allen Iverson.

Former Carolina Panther Rae Carruth was even charged with planning the drive-by shooting death of his former girlfriend Cherica Adams, and was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. And St. Louis Rams linebacker Leonard Little pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after an incident of drunken driving in which he ran a red light and struck a woman picking up her children.

But really, what’s a little murder where integrity is concerned? I mean, it’s certainly not as atrocious as ponying up at a table in Vegas and legally betting on your favorite team.

So, if the NFL is so vehemently and morally opposed to gambling and the damage it will surely do to its image, the league certainly couldn’t have any association to such a crime, could it?

The NFL’s public ties to gambling go back to the 1980s when well known gambler, handicapper and prognosticator Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder was prominently featured during CBS’ weekly pregame show. In 1963, a pair of NFL stars were caught betting on their sport. Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras (better known as the affable dad from “Webster” than he ever was for any manner of gridiron glory) and Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung were both suspended “indefinitely” for the transgression.

Sadly, “indefinitely” equated to a single year and Hornung was even inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (I wonder if Pete Rose knows about that one) a few years after his retirement.

If the strong moral fiber and morals make players impervious to transgressions in the eyes of commissioner Paul Tagliabue, maybe professional football is worried such ads could have a negative effect on

the character of its massive viewing audience.

In that case, the league must desperately be trying to revive the lost art of the cat fight with Budweiser ads, and be eager to encourage public lewdness and indecent exposure with recent Nike ads displaying an English soccer fan nudely rushing the field only to elude the helpless police.

Rather than pointing a righteous and indignant finger, Tagliabue needs to simply acknowledge the fact that the NFL wouldn’t be where it is today without television revenue and gambling. By not airing the ads, the NFL merely served to give Las Vegas more publicity than any ad could have hoped to garner and showed the NFL’s commissioner as a hypocrite.

Sure, Tagliabue could genuinely be worried about the (a)moral state of his league, but it could be he’s fighting the only revenue source related to the league he doesn’t receive a cut from.

You decide.