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A16 SPORTS
Thursday 17 augusT 2023
Athletes’ competitiveness explain risk to bet on own games
By ERIC OLSON game and belief in your
AP College Football Writer own skill,” Whyte said, “so
Allegations of Iowa and the closer you are to the
Iowa State athletes ille- action, the more likely it is
gally wagering on sports you may think that bet is a
is one thing. Accusations sure thing.
that some of them bet “So if you’re an athlete who
on games in which they has been studying the film,
played, or could have, is it’s not necessarily about
quite another. While fans controlling the outcome;
of both schools have asked it’s a belief you know the
why athletes would risk los- outcome of a game. But
ing eligibility and possibly there’s a very fine line be-
going to jail over relatively tween knowing how a par-
small amounts of money, tiuclar game is going to go
National Council on Prob- because of film and expe-
lem Gambling executive rience and crossing into
director Keith Whyte said manipulating the game.”
he isn’t surprised by allega- Of the 14 current and for-
tions of athletes betting on mer Iowa and Iowa State
their own and risking a per- athletes who have been
manent ban. charged so far with tam-
“Much of the psychology of pering with records in or-
gambling, and sports bet- Iowa wide receiver Arland Bruce IV runs off the field after catching a touchdown pass during the der to disguise their identi-
ting in particular, revolves first half of an NCAA college football game against Nevada, Sept. 17, 2022, in Iowa City, Iowa. ties to state authorities and
around knowledge of the Associated Press the NCAA, six allegedly bet
on football games in which
they played and three al-
legedly bet on football
games in which they could
have played. At least one
athlete is accused of bet-
ting against his own team:
Iowa State defensive line-
man Isaiah Lee made a
money-line bet against the
Cyclones in a 2021 game
against Texas, according
to a criminal complaint.
Lee played 42 snaps in the
game and made one tack-
le in ISU’s 30-7 win. Lee is no
longer in the program, the
school confirmed this week.
The Iowa Racing and Gam-
ing Commission said Aug.
3 that no evidence had
been discovered suggest-
ing any game outcomes
were compromised. That
was before Lee’s alleged
losing bet against the Cy-
clones was disclosed. IRG
administrator Brian Ohorilko
on Wednesday referred
The Associated Press to the
original statement and de-
clined further comment.
College athletes typically
attend at least one seminar
each year at their school to
educate them on the per-
ils of gambling, including
NCAA rules and possible
penalties.
But the proliferation of legal
sports wagering across the
country and mobile apps
that make it easy to place
bets has made it a popular
activity for college-aged
people. q
