To suggest guys using FanDuel and DraftKings to place small bets aren't bought in to the program is a big stretch.
No, it really isn't a big stretch at all. Repeatedly breaking rules that you know will likely get you ineligible for a significant stretch of games and possibly kicked off the team indicates to me that you don't very highly value the team or the need for character that the coach is trying to create. That isn't "bought in" in any way that I can see.
The amounts and how many weren't earth shattering either. They averaged out to small amounts per bet and nobody dropped like 20K. And then there's the NIL factor too.
The amount of the bets or the means used to place the bets isn't really the issue. The issue is repeatedly doing something that could be (
and ultimately was) seriously detrimental to the team, despite numerous and repeated warning from the coaching staff not to do that activity.
Dekkers placed like an "Over" ISU bet when he wasn't even playing. And there is absolutely zero evidence of anyone tanking/fixing a game.
You're making a huge leap here to suggest something nefarious the last 2 seasons like fixing games, etc.
I don't think they were fixing games, What I am concerned about is the defiance of the coaching staff and disregard for the good of the team in a program that preaches culture and character. Somewhere there was a big disconnect between what the coach was teaching and what was going on. Having been in a similar situation, I am also concerned about the animosity that such activity creates in the team environment, and how that plays itself out in how the team functions, particularly when the team leaders are involved in the defiance.
Players are also not supposed to drink underage. Do you want to kick all the players off the team who imbibe? How about the tokers?
Is it really realistic to expect any young person, athlete or otherwise, to not make any mistakes or do something stupid?
Apples and oranges. Underage drinking usually carries a game or two suspension (if any suspension at all), doesn't involve a DCI criminal investigation, and doesn't nationally negatively portray/embarrass the program. The consequences to both the individual and team for underage gambling are significantly worse than for underage drinking/toking.
When a rule with serious consequences is broken a couple of times, I'll agree it is a stupid mistake. Stop the behavior and move on. When that rule is broken hundreds of times (or over a thousand times in the case of Brock) and over an extended period of time, despite continual warning against the activity, it's beyond a silly mistake. It's willful defiance and shows lack of respect for the program and those running the program. That's not good. A program will fail if there is no respect for the coaches and the program itself.