The NCAA is widening its investigation into sports wagering among student-athletes, announcing on Thursday that 13 former men’s basketball players from six universities are now facing potential violations.
According to the organization, the players — whose names have not been made public — may be disciplined for breaking gambling rules or for failing to cooperate with investigators. Allegations differ from case to case but include betting on their own teams, wagering against their schools, providing insider information to others, attempting to influence the outcome of games, and refusing to comply with the inquiry.
According to ESPN, the violations include athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for purposes of betting, knowingly manipulating scoring or game outcomes and/or refusing to participate in the enforcement staff’s investigation. NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a press release that “the rise of sports betting is creating more opportunity for athletes across sports to engage in this unacceptable behavior, and while legalized sports betting is here to stay, regulators and gaming companies can do more to reduce these integrity risks by eliminating prop bets and giving sports leagues a seat at the table when setting policies.”
The athletes under scrutiny previously competed for Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, the University of New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State. The NCAA emphasized that it does not believe coaches, staff members, or the schools themselves were part of the misconduct. Instead, the investigation is focused solely on the actions of the former players, all of whom are no longer enrolled at their respective institutions.
The NCAA said it will wait until the infractions process is complete before disclosing any of the athletes’ names. It explained that Thursday’s update was issued only because the cases had already been widely reported in the media.
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