Alabama fires head baseball coach amidst betting scandal

*Katy Perry voice* Laaast Friday night, Alabama’s scheduled starting pitcher and ace, Luke Holman, was scratched due to back tightness roughly an hour before a matchup with No. 1-ranked LSU. Holman was replaced by another Bama pitcher who hadn’t started a game in over a month – and you can probably guess how things ended up (spoiler: LSU won).

That same night, sports-betting regulators in Ohio were alerted to a pair of large bets predicting that LSU would beat Alabama regardless of score. Shortly afterwards, officials ordered a statewide halt on all wagers related to Alabama baseball. Regulators in four states – OH, NJ, IN, and PA – have also followed suit.

🤔 What’s going on?... Here’s what we know:

• Multiple sources told ESPN that video surveillance from a sportsbook at the Cincinnati Reds’ stadium shows the person who placed the two suspicious bets was in communication with Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon at the time.
• Alabama fired head baseball coach Brad Bohannon yesterday amidst an ongoing investigation into the suspicious betting activity.
• Sources say there’s “no reason to believe any student-athletes are involved."

🎰 Zoom out: College baseball isn’t the only sport dealing with gambling issues. Five NFL players were suspended less than two weeks ago in the league’s biggest crackdown on violations of its gambling policy in history.