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Alabama Baseball Head Coach Fired Amid Gambling Scandal
Alabama fired their head baseball coach Brad Bohannon as evidence has surfaced of his involvement in a fixed-games gambling scandal. This is the first controversy of its kind in college sports in a very long time, and sportsbooks and the university have acted quickly with an ongoing investigation. Here's what we know so far.
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Alabama Baseball Head Coach Fired Amid Gambling Scandal
In early May, the Ohio Casino Control Commission banned bettors in the entire state of Ohio from betting on Alabama baseball games. At the time, this was a weird coincidence - what does the state of Ohio have to do with Alabama baseball?
It turns out a large wager was placed shortly before Alabama's game against rival LSU on April 28th in Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati Ohio. Video later confirmed that Alabama's head coach Brad Bohannon contacted a former high school coach to make the bet.
After the bet was made, Bohannon scratched his starting pitcher and inserted a reliever instead. Alabama went on to lose the game, and got swept in the three-game series against LSU.
As first reported by ESPN, the Ohio Casino Control Commission issued an emergency order prohibiting accepting wagers on Alabama baseball.
— Andy Wittry (@AndyWittry) May 2, 2023
FanDuel: "We didn’t take any bets on this game and pulled it off our platform out of an abundance of caution."https://t.co/C1UYF9c4VH pic.twitter.com/weFC33aCRK
It wasn't just the state of Ohio that quickly stopped bettors from wagering on Alabama baseball. FanDuel Sportsbook removed all Alabama games from it's platform across the board.
Shortly after FanDuel pulled down Alabama games, Alabama's athletic director fired head baseball coach Brad Bohannon.
Brad Bohannon's firing came three days after suspicious wagering was detected on the Crimson Tide's game at LSU on April 28, prompting multiple states to suspend betting on Alabama baseball. https://t.co/NZtCbYEIoN pic.twitter.com/LfPuSP4nov
— ESPN (@espn) May 4, 2023
Hours later, interim head coach Jason Jackson led the Crimson Tide to a dominant 11-2 victory over the number-five ranked Vanderbilt Commodores.
Nobody involved with Alabama baseball other than Bohannon has been punished, and it is presumed that nobody on the team was aware this was happening other than Bohannon himself.
It remains to be seen if Bohannon and/or any other conspirators will face legal discipline.
Did Alabama ex-head coach Brad Bohannon knowingly attempt to throw games? Let us know what you think on Twitter.