NCAA to Delay Pro Sports Gambling Policy
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey urged the NCAA to reconsider a pending rule change that would allow collegiate athletes and university athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports — and his request was granted.
“The message of our President and Chancellors was clear and united: this policy change represents a major step in the wrong direction,” Sanky wrote in a memo obtained by ESPN.
The Division I Board, who apparently heard Sanky’s protests, voted to delay the proposal until Nov. 22. However, it’s not off the table completely as any rule change has a 30-day period in which schools can vote to reverse the policy if less than 75% implement it. (Because DII and DIII schools approved the change Oct. 22, the window technically ends No. 21, but the window was extended.)
It comes as the sports world reels from an alleged NBA gambling scheme involving Miami guard Terry Rozier, Portland coach Chauncey Billups and four mafia families in New York. Ever since then, high-profile voices across both professional and collegiate sports — including coaches, SEC leadership, and the Major League Baseball Players Association — have raised serious concerns about the policy.
Most believe that making sports betting legal for college athletes normalizes gambling among young athletes, warning that it could be a hazard of addiction risk among the athletes. As well as the risk to the leagues’ integrity and athletes’ reputations.
MLBPA’s union leader, Tony Clark, went as far as proposing the ban of proposition bets, better known as prop bets. These wagers are made off individual athletes’ performances, such as the number of strikeouts a pitcher throws or the number of free throws a basketball player hits.
“We’re in support of removing any types of bets, props or otherwise, that can create issues for our guys on the field,” Clark said.
Originally, the NCAA wanted to promote more regulation associated with gambling at the collegiate level, promoting education and integrity. Betting on college sports, using insider or confidential information about college athletics for betting, and certain betting-related promotions would still be prohibited actions. But college sports have faced problematic betting, too.
In September, 13 men’s college basketball players from six schools were illegally betting against their own team and sharing sensitive information for others to gamble with, according to the NCAA.
It’s easy to see, then, why the NBA’s own gambling scandal might have caused schools to reconsider what role public and private institutions play in promoting betting. With conferences pushing back, and ongoing federal cases and investigations into sports betting, the adoption of any enforced gambling is up in the air.
Category: College Football, Football, Gator Sports, NBA, NCAA, SEC
