Friday, May 31

Alabama fires baseball coach after report of suspicious bets

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama is firing baseball coach Brad Bohannon after a report of suspicious bets involving his crew, with the college saying he violated “the standards, duties and responsibilities expected of university employees.”

The firing introduced Thursday got here three days after a report warning of suspicious wagers prompted Ohio’s high playing regulator to bar licensed sportsbooks within the state from accepting bets on Alabama baseball video games. Pennsylvania additionally has requested its sportsbooks to cease accepting bets on Alabama baseball.

Alabama stated in a press release that athletic director Greg Byrne has initiated the method of firing Bohannon “for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of university employees.” Pitching coach Jason Jackson will function interim head coach.

The college stated there could be no additional remark “pending an ongoing review.” Alabama had stated Tuesday that it was wanting into the report.

Matthew Schuler, government director of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, issued an emergency order on Monday “prohibiting the acceptance of any wagers on University of Alabama Baseball effective immediately.”

The order stated that one of many state’s “certified independent integrity monitors” notified the state concerning the wagers.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has issued an analogous warning.

“We’ve, out of an abundance of caution, asked our operators not to offer wagers on Alabama baseball,” spokesman Doug Harbach stated Thursday.

He stated the board had obtained a report from Las Vegas-based U.S. Integrity warning sportsbooks of suspicious wagering exercise. According to ESPN, the considerations arose from Friday evening’s Alabama-LSU recreation. Alabama scored 5 runs within the ninth inning of an 8-6 loss to LSU, which was ranked No. 1 within the main faculty baseball polls whereas Alabama was unranked.

U.S. Integrity declined to remark.

NCAA guidelines bar athletes and athletic workers from betting on video games “and from providing information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition.”

The NCAA stated it was conscious of the scenario and gathering extra info however stated it couldn’t remark “on current, pending or potential investigations.” Alabama has stated it turned conscious of the scenario Monday night.

Ronnie Johns, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, stated in an emailed assertion that state officers “did not see any irregular activity in betting on the LSU/Alabama baseball series.”

“The operators of all the national sports book platforms did not report any suspicious activity in Louisiana,” he wrote Wednesday. “The issue at hand originated in Ohio alone and the Ohio Gaming Commission took action to shut down any bets involving Alabama. LSU baseball has absolutely not been implicated in any suspicious betting activity and therefore there is no investigation of any sort involving LSU.”

U.S. Integrity screens “data to see if discrepancies coincide with notable player or coaching events, reveal officiating abnormalities or are indicative of the misuse of insider information,” in accordance with its web site.

Bohannon went 166-124 in five-plus seasons, together with a 30-15 report this season. In 2021, he led Alabama to its first NCAA regional since 2014.

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