Three days after an ESPN report revealing that suspicious wagering activity resulted in Ohio suspending betting from the Alabama-LSU baseball game, the Crimson Tide fired head baseball coach Brad Bohannon.
In a statement, the school said, “Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees. Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach. There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”
The statement didn’t explicitly say it was due to gambling, but as AL.com reported, these issues started last Friday when two unusual bets were placed on that day’s Alabama-LSU game. The bets were placed at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, and consisted of a “large straight-up bet” as well as a parlay that involved the game. After Ohio suspended betting on the game, New Jersey and Pennsylvania followed suit, while FanDuel did it to their sportsbooks nationwide.
Both bets had LSU winning and right before the game, sophomore Luke Holman was supposed to start for the Crimson Tide. Holman was replaced after getting “back tightness” for relief pitcher Hagan Banks. LSU would win 8-6.
Wednesday night, the SEC issued a statement from commissioner Greg Sankey, who said, “We are aware of reports related to the suspension of wagering on Alabama baseball games. We will continue to monitor available information and any regulatory activity.
“As many states have acted to legalize sports gambling, we are reminded of the threats gambling may pose to competitive integrity. Together with our member universities, we will continue to emphasize the importance of regulating, overseeing, and providing education related to sports gambling activity.”
This comes three weeks after former pitcher Johnny Blake Bennett sued Bohannon, pitching coach Jason Jackson, and team trainer Sean Stryker for negligence after mismanaging an arm injury.
[AL.com]