Greg Sankey addresses Brad Bohannon's firing at Alabama amid baseball wagering investigation
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey weighed in on Alabama’s firing of baseball head coach Brad Bohannon amid a wagering investigation.
Bohannon was fired for violating the standards, duties and responsibilities of university employees. The firing came days after news of a potential betting scandal involving suspicious betting activity on Alabama games came to light.
Sankey maintained a zero tolerance policy in this department.
“The University of Alabama has taken swift action after information about baseball sports wagering activity was questioned by industry regulators,” Sankey said in a statement. “Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and for that purpose the SEC monitors gambling activity through its relationship with US Integrity and has done so since 2018.
“There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition. We will remain in communication with the University throughout its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time.”
The Ohio Casino Control Commission first reported “suspicious wagering activity” at the BetMGM sportsbook at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Ohio, involving the Alabama-LSU game on Friday and multiple states began to halt bets on Alabama baseball, according to ESPN.
According to Ronnie Johns, the chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, via a report from NOLA.com, two bets were under scrutiny, including one large bet.
“There were a couple of bets made in Cincinnati, Ohio,” Johns said. “One was on a parlay which involved the LSU-Alabama game, and then there was another straight-up (money line) bet, I was told it was a large bet that involved LSU-Alabama.”
Johns confirmed the bets were on the Tigers to win, leading him to believe the suspicious activity didn’t come from the LSU side.
“That in itself indicates that there’s definitely no suspicious activity on the part of LSU,” Johns said. “You don’t typically suspect the team that was picked to win the game. The problem would have been whether someone on the Alabama side was suspicious of activity.”
Before Bohannon was fired, in his seven seasons with the Crimson Tide he compiled a 166-124 overall record, while notching a 48-91 SEC mark. Alabama never had a season above .500 in SEC play under his watch.
Alabama is scheduled to host a three-game SEC series against Vanderbilt starting on Thursday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8 p.m. ET with a broadcast on ESPNU.
Jason Jackson will serve as the team’s interim coach.