Peterson: College football reputation at stake with players accused of betting on own games
Not only has the reputation of college athletes accused of illegal sports gambling taken a major hit, but on a macro level the betting scandal unfolding before our eyes also is a blow to the head for a college football season that’s starting up in a few weeks.
With Tuesday’s accusation out of the Story County Attorney’s office that Iowa State starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers allegedly bet on a Cyclones football game for which he was an available player, what does that mean for the credibility of the sport?
We’ve already got star players being paid handsomely via NIL deals to switch from one school to the highest bidder. We’ve already got the uncertainty about which teams are going to end up in which conferences. And let’s not forget the mess that is college athletics’ transfer portal.
More: Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers accused of betting on ISU sports, including football
And now, according to court documents released late Tuesday afternoon, we learned that some athletes may have actually bet on their own games.
At Iowa State, Dekkers was accused of doing it. So was teammate Dodge Sauser, a reserve offensive lineman who hasn’t played in a game. Former Cyclone Enyi Uwazurike is accused of betting on ISU games in which he played.
In Iowa City, Hawkeye backup kicker Aaron Blom has been accused of betting the "under" on the 2021 Cy-Hawk game, won by Iowa 27-17 (44 combined points). Blom didn't participate in that game. Oh by the way, the betting over-under number heading into the game was 45, according to the ESPN box score.
Laying down a bet on games is one thing. Betting on your own team, even if it’s to win?
That’s as irresponsible as it gets, considering the aftershocks that resonate throughout the team in the locker room and among fans in the stadium and watching on TV.
Can you really watch games these days without wondering if a bad play was a mistake, or was it something done intentionally to influence an outcome?
I don’t know the answer to that, but I suspect in some fans’ minds, Tuesday’s allegations are enough to raise suspicion – a stain on college athletics that might not quickly go away.
College football gambling probe isn't limited to Iowa State
Fans pay enough money for tickets and TV packages without needing to wonder if what they’re watching might include some funny business.
Before we go too much further, let’s not forget that Iowa athletes are being investigated, too. In addition to Blom (the Hawkeye kicker), we also saw charges brought against former Hawkeye baseball player Gehrig Christensen and former Iowa basketball player Ahron Ulis. And I suspect we’ll hear more from the Johnson County Attorney soon.
More: Former Iowa baseball player accused of making underage wagers on Hawkeye sports
The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said back in May that it “does not currently have any information that would call into question the integrity of any sports wagering contest or event involving the University of Iowa or Iowa State University.”
Thank goodness for that, but after Tuesday’s charges it’s certainly not going to stop fans from wondering.
That’s the surprising part of the allegations involving Iowa State players – that a wager “from a DraftKings account which was controlled by Hunter Dekkers” included the 2021 Iowa State-Oklahoma State football game.
Brock Purdy went the distance at quarterback in that game, a 24-21 Cyclones upset win in Ames against the 8th-ranked team in the nation. Dekkers didn’t play, but that’s not the point.
He had inside information. He had knowledge. He’d attended practices throughout the week. He knew more about what could happen in that game than all the 61,500 Cyclones Homecoming game fans put together. If allegations against him are correct, then that’s bad. It’s unconscionable.
The NCAA has found that college sports wagering is extensive among students nationally
It’s one thing to bet on other schools’ games or the NFL, but to bet on a game in which you’ve been preparing to play for the previous five days, a game in which you know your team’s injury situation and have been heavily involved with the game plan?
I can see how people might start to have suspicions about the sports, whether it’s played at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Ohio State’s horseshoe, or even at stadiums that house our country’s lower-level grassroots college programs.
Dekkers, in a statement from his attorneys, denies the criminal charges. He’ll plead not guilty.
According to Mark Weinhardt of the Weinhardt law firm in Des Moines:
“This charge attempts to criminalize a daily fact of American life. Millions of people share online accounts of all kinds every day.
“This prosecution interferes with and politicizes what is the business of Iowa State University and the NCAA. The investigation at the Iowa universities is the tip of an iceberg. Thousands and thousands of college athletes place bets — usually very small ones — with shared accounts. That is for the schools and the NCAA to police.”
A recent NCAA gambling survey found that 58% of 3,527 respondents acknowledged having made at least one sports wager, and that 67% of students living on campuses said they tend to bet at a higher frequency.
The report disclosed that 41% of responding college student bettors placed bets on their schools' teams.
The NCAA said it would conduct an athlete-only survey in the fall.
“You saw the data coming out from the NCAA,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said last month. “Obviously, it’s an issue for all of us within the industry, and something that we’re going to have to manage as affectively as possible.”
I suspect Dekkers’ attorney is right. Wagering on games is happening at more schools than just the state of Iowa’s largest two universities.
More: Major updates have arrived in the sports-gambling probe affecting ISU and Iowa. Here's what we know.
But that doesn’t make it right, especially when it’s against NCAA rules – and all student-athletes know it.
What they might not know, but certainly know now, is that cellphone wagering can set off alarms. According to Tuesday’s allegations, bets linking back to Dekkers were placed at his “university residence and areas of the university not routinely open to the public.”
Not routinely open to the public?
If that includes somewhere within the walls of the football facility – I can only shake my head. Inside the locker room? The weight room? The athletes’ dining facility?
If you’re going to break the rules and bet on college games, including one that allegedly involved your team, you’re certainly smart enough not to do it in an area that’s off-limits to the public. Right?
Ding. Ding. Ding.
Or in this case …
Ping. Ping. Ping.
Some contend the rules these student-athletes are accused of breaking are out of touch with today’s social climate. Still, they (allegedly) did it.
And now, they might have to suffer consequences that could mean the end of their college sports careers.
Iowa State athletics director releases statement
Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard released this statement on Wednesday afternoon:
“Since becoming aware of potential NCAA eligibility issues related to sports wagering by several of our student-athletes in May, Iowa State University has been actively working to address these issues with the involved student-athletes. This process is ongoing and will take time before being completely resolved.
"Iowa State cannot comment on any student-athletes’ circumstance or eligibility status. We will, however, continue to support our student-athletes as our compliance staff works with the NCAA to sort out questions surrounding their future eligibility for intercollegiate athletics competition.
“Iowa State Athletics educates its student-athletes, coaches and staff on NCAA rules and State of Iowa law surrounding sports wagering and will continue to emphasize the importance of understanding and adhering to these regulations moving forward.”
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peterson: College football reputation is at stake with betting probe
