ISU Gambling Megathread

[Cyhig]

With 37 states with legalized sports gambling, one has to think this isn’t isolated to the state of Iowa. I expect more and more student athletes across many universities will come under the microscope within the next year.

Student athletes need to be smarter than gambling on sporting events, especially games involving their own team. Parents need to be smarter than allowing their kids to use a gambling account in their name. Inexcusable.

Hopefully these events from ISU and Iowa are alarm bells to all student athletes. I personally don’t have any sympathy for these athletes who gamble on their own team/games

 

[cyclonez7]

It's true that what these guys did was dumb but college athletes have received less severe punishments for worse crimes like drunk driving.

 

[madguy30]

It's true that what these guys did was dumb but college athletes have received less severe punishments for worse crimes like drunk driving.

Did they sign off on something saying they'd be done with college football forever if they drove drunk?

 

[RezClone]

I don't get these rants against DCI doing their job.

Wasn't the illegal activity reported to DCI, and DCI asked to investigate it? What did you want them to do? Cover it up?

No, I don't want them to cover it up.

I want them to exercise their discretionary authority to allocate investigative resources proportionally in accordance to the threat posed to public safety by said reported illegal activity relative to the countless other reports DCI receives.

Maybe a good place to start would be to, idk, ask yourself if this is being investigated elsewhere by your counterparts in other states and if they have received similar reports of said illegal activity? This was always an issue befitting the scope and resources of the NCAA and University compliance offices, not DCI.

I'll ask you this, what good is going to come of this that couldn't have been accomplished by a scary letter or phone call to administrators with recommendation not to prosecute attached to the reports submitted to the respective DA's for the reasons stated above? (Thank goodness we're going to get Jirehl Brock and Isaiah Lee off the streets of Iowa for... what, a day or two? Sarcasm, obviously)

Listen, I'm not saying the behavior wasn't illegal and didn't need to be stopped. But what are we talking about here? Owi's aren't punished like this, and as others have stated, people can and do die every day when people drink and drive. And that is what, like 2 hours of paperwork by police and a game or two suspension?

As a side note, I think they had everything they have now pretty early on and fairly easily, since the sportsbooks are so thorough. They probably had to keep digging just in case, but that just leads you to believe, since nobody is talking the SMU death penalty here, that all they found was a handful of kids being dumb kids who may have made some extra money (ie no game fixing).

At the very least we had a chance to set an appropriate precedent. Breath a sigh of relief that nobody was trying to bring the Casinos to their knees, put the fear of God in the players, but own the fact that you just spent the better part of a year unwrapping a nothing burger in the context of the modern NIL legalized sports betting brand new world we now find ourselves in...all the while there's an actual all-you-can-eat buffet of crime that's actually putting the People's well-being at risk that you could have been working on.

 

[ClonesTwenty1]

Aside from Lee, which of these guys played significantly on any winning teams?

Brock and Hanika were going to be starters this upcoming season most likely.

 

[Pat]

No I am just stating a fact. Going to a casino doesn't violate any laws. The post I quoted implied going to a casino was a no no. Hell the coaches and players where at the Casino in Shreveport after we lost to Bama.

In fairness, there was not much else to do in Shreveport.

 

[rochclone]

It's true that what these guys did was dumb but college athletes have received less severe punishments for worse crimes like drunk driving.

The integrity of the game is the issue. It is the foundation of sports. If gambling against your team becomes normal then we have the WWE and things are scripted.

 

[alarson]

It's true that what these guys did was dumb but college athletes have received less severe punishments for worse crimes like drunk driving.

Which is why they ultimately will probably receive lesser criminal punishments than those crimes.

However, when it comes to NCAA penalties, something that affects the very integrity of the game they are playing is going to have a severe penalty from the NCAA. Upholding that integrity is (and has to be) at the core of the NCAA's mission. It isn't really the NCAA's job to enforce penalties on things like DUIs (though schools certainly can within their own codes of conduct).

 

[madguy30]

No, I don't want them to cover it up.

I want them to exercise their discretionary authority to allocate investigative resources proportionally in accordance to the threat posed to public safety by said reported illegal activity relative to the countless other reports DCI receives.

Maybe a good place to start would be to, idk, ask yourself if this is being investigated elsewhere by your counterparts in other states and if they have received similar reports of said illegal activity? This was always an issue befitting the scope and resources of the NCAA and University compliance offices, not DCI.

I'll ask you this, what good is going to come of this that couldn't have been accomplished by a scary letter or phone call to administrators with recommendation not to prosecute attached to the reports submitted to the respective DA's for the reasons stated above? (Thank goodness we're going to get Jirehl Brock and Isaiah Lee off the streets of Iowa for... what, a day or two? Sarcasm, obviously)

Listen, I'm not saying the behavior wasn't illegal and didn't need to be stopped. But what are we talking about here? Owi's aren't punished like this, and as others have stated, people can and do die every day when people drink and drive. And that is what, like 2 hours of paperwork by police and a game or two suspension?

As a side note, I think they had everything they have now pretty early on and fairly easily, since the sportsbooks are so thorough. They probably had to keep digging just in case, but that just leads you to believe, since nobody is talking the SMU death penalty here, that all they found was a handful of kids being dumb kids who may have made some extra money (ie no game fixing).

At the very least we had a chance to set an appropriate precedent. Breath a sigh of relief that nobody was trying to bring the Casinos to their knees, put the fear of God in the players, but own the fact that you just spent the better part of a year unwrapping a nothing burger in the context of the modern NIL legalized sports betting brand new world we now find ourselves in...all the while there's an actual all-you-can-eat buffet of crime that's actually putting the People's well-being at risk that you could have been working on.

Wasn't the 'scary letter' the thing they went over saying 'if you do this, you're done'?

 

[RezClone]

Wasn't the 'scary letter' the thing they went over saying 'if you do this, you're done'?

I hear you. And I'll reiterate what they did was dumb and wrong.

1) Be that as it may, despite the efforts of the University to get the point across to NOT DO IT (ie education, handbooks, seminars, signatures etc)...whatever form they took, I think we can agree the players who did it didn't think they would get caught.

2) Likewise, I think we can all agree actually getting caught has certainly gotten the point across to players that they can get caught.

3) Players at other schools that may have been (and likely were) doing the exact same thing at the exact same time will have the opportunity to learn from #2 courtesy of your tax dollars. They can use our players as examples, not anyone in their world, in orderbto correct their behavior, if nothing else. Obviously, players in Iowa will never be able to say the same.

4) Setting the precedent that the NCAA will hunt you down anywhere if you are betting as an athlete would facilitate a realistic expectation that ISU, uniquely, won't be the lone sacrificial lamb here. (Yes Iowa too minus a kicker so far, basically.)

5) Setting the precedent that it takes the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation to catch athletes betting on sports means essentially means nothing to other schools. There's layers of politics and bureaucracy standing between offenders elsewhere and equally applied justice.

Now, I've publicly disavowed the actions of the players. I've even said things about their character and judgment that I regret. I'm as upset and disappointed as the next guy:

-Like you all, I'm excited to see what Becht and Kohl, our improved program depth, new coaches, and Freshman class can do this year. I'm also ready to move on as many of you are.

-I also understand the point of view that DCI was just doing their job and our guys were warned...

...BUT I don't agree with it in the context of reasons I stated above and my previous post. Until you can assure me that the same thing is going to happen in every other state with Power 5 (Power 4?) teams in them, then it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Simply put, why just us (iowa and ISU) and nobody else? We aren't uniquely bad, are we? You mean to tell me Not A Single Player at UNI and Drake placed a single bet? Not one!? Are we just an acceptable target? Are we the Trinity Test Site or Bikini Atoll or something where nobody important enough to care about lives, so CFB can just try out their most dangerous weapons here that they might need in the future somewhere where it might actually hurt someone who matters? Do we think that about ourselves???

Two wrongs don't make a right. You can ask questions. You can be upset at DCI. You can make a case for mitigation and leniency. You can be empathetic and try to understand what those players were thinking at the time. You can demand some consideration from all involved that this is a new and unique situation that nobody has really been through, INCLUDING the players who did wrong.

 

[CloneLawman]

I hear you. And I'll reiterate what they did was dumb and wrong.

1) Be that as it may, despite the efforts of the University to get the point across to NOT DO IT (ie education, handbooks, seminars, signatures etc)...whatever form they took, I think we can agree the players who did it didn't think they would get caught.

2) Likewise, I think we can all agree actually getting caught has certainly gotten the point across to players that they can get caught.

3) Players at other schools that may have been (and likely were) doing the exact same thing at the exact same time will have the opportunity to learn from #2 courtesy of your tax dollars. They can use our players as examples, not anyone in their world, in orderbto correct their behavior, if nothing else. Obviously, players in Iowa will never be able to say the same.

4) Setting the precedent that the NCAA will hunt you down anywhere if you are betting as an athlete would facilitate a realistic expectation that ISU, uniquely, won't be the lone sacrificial lamb here. (Yes Iowa too minus a kicker so far, basically.)

5) Setting the precedent that it takes the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation to catch athletes betting on sports means essentially means nothing to other schools. There's layers of politics and bureaucracy standing between offenders elsewhere and equally applied justice.

Now, I've publicly disavowed the actions of the players. I've even said things about their character and judgment that I regret. I'm as upset and disappointed as the next guy:

-Like you all, I'm excited to see what Becht and Kohl, our improved program depth, new coaches, and Freshman class can do this year. I'm also ready to move on as many of you are.

-I also understand the point of view that DCI was just doing their job and our guys were warned...

...BUT I don't agree with it in the context of reasons I stated above and my previous post. Until you can assure me that the same thing is going to happen in every other state with Power 5 (Power 4?) teams in them, then it just doesn’t sit right with me.

Simply put, why just us (iowa and ISU) and nobody else? We aren't uniquely bad, are we? You mean to tell me Not A Single Player at UNI and Drake placed a single bet? Not one!? Are we just an acceptable target? Are we the Trinity Test Site or Bikini Atoll or something where nobody important enough to care about lives, so CFB can just try out their most dangerous weapons here that they might need in the future somewhere where it might actually hurt someone who matters? Do we think that about ourselves???

Two wrongs don't make a right. You can ask questions. You can be upset at DCI. You can make a case for mitigation and leniency. You can be empathetic and try to understand what those players were thinking at the time. You can demand some consideration from all involved that this is a new and unique situation that nobody has really been through, INCLUDING the players

 

[amishclone]

On top of that they didn’t just decide to do it. The books are legally required to track athletes and relations to athletes in Iowa. On top of that on top of that books are legally required to report any suspicious activity and have it investitaged. Their licenses literally depend on it. Billions on billions of dollars at stake if they don’t follow regulations.

These conspiracy theories and “they are targeting Iowa and Iowa State and it wouldn’t happen anywhere else” is getting silly.

I will agree with you once a reasonable amount of other states bust a bunch of players for gambling. In other words, never.

 

[Cyclonepride]

That’s what I’m holding onto. Maybe last year was less of a talent problem than it looked, and it was just a team with some really terrible player leadership.

It was a very young team that lost a lot of close games. Could have been so much better with just a play or two every game. Starting over at QB with a lot of inexperience is going to be tough, but if other aspects step up from last year, I think we'll be fine.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I don't get these rants against DCI doing their job.

Wasn't the illegal activity reported to DCI, and DCI asked to investigate it? What did you want them to do? Cover it up?

IMO, it's something they got onto and then poured a lot of time and resources into in order to say, "Look, we're tough on illegal gambling" while the really big fish go unmonitored.

 

[RezClone]

I will sometime around April.

 

[Tailg8er]

If no other states investigate gambling in their public university sports programs then ferentz and Campbell should be fired if for no other reason they couldn’t stop it. Then you will know why barta took the golden parachute

I’m saying if the most powerful football voices in the state couldn’t squash this and the most powerful AD quit because this was happening, then the powerful football brokers of Iowa are feckless. This isn’t happening anywhere else because ferentz, Campbell, and barta are weak

C'mon, what are we doing here man??

 

[Tailg8er]

Lol any anyone that doesn’t think this year’s team isn’t going to be a complete disaster. I put the over/under wins at 3.

I'll bet you $20 on that over - deal?

 

[iahawks]

I seriously doubt that.

First of all NIL money pays way more than any point shaving type scheme ever would. Point shaving was never very lucrative payout wise. But players who were really strapped for money back in the day might be susceptible.

Any point shaving scheme has to be kept somewhat small in nature because any type of huge money coming in that runs contrary to the handicappers will be flagged as suspicious.

Plus, the players you need to guarantee a fix (tank job) are elite skill position guys who are already making fat stacks in NIL.

Armand Bruce basically threw games because he bet the under and was a starting WR that can have a direct impact on such a thing.

 

[Pope]

I take it back I don't want Arland Bruce to transfer here anymore

Only transfer available to Bruce now is the NAIA.

 

[RezClone]

IMO, it's something they got onto and then poured a lot of time and resources into in order to say, "Look, we're tough on illegal gambling" while the really big fish go unmonitored.

Kind of makes you wonder about the nature of the original complaint to DCI. If someone said something to the effect of, "Hey some people at X organization are doing Y illegal activity that they are uniquely and specifically not allowed to do as members of X organization." Then what?

Is it normal for for DCI to have carte blanche investigative authority over every member of X organization for a vague non-specific complaint(s)? Seems kind of like a drag-net 4th amendment type thing if that's the case.

Did the Casinos turn them in? Where they all using the same app? Is this a terms and conditions thing or did the players sign their right to privacy away when it comes to gambling specifically with their scholarship or something? Was there a mole on the inside compiling evidence? Or was every player who is caught up on this thing named specifically and they are the only ones that have been investigated this entire time?

Are you still reading this? Does anybody care? Why does Brian Ferentz still have a job? What size are TJ's shirts anyways. How many bathrooms are in that tiny press box? The over/under has to be at one, right?