Venables: Mateer has 'moved on quickly' from Venmo controversy
NORMAN — As far as Brent Venables and John Mateer are concerned, the Venmo controversy from earlier this week has been resolved.
The OU head coach spoke to reporters on Friday following practice and was asked about the controversy surrounding Mateer that dominated the news cycle earlier this week. Late Monday night, Mateer’s Venmo transaction history made the rounds on social media after it was noted that he had made two payments in November 2022 that were labeled “sports gambling.” Mateer made the payments to his Washington State teammate and roommate at the time.
Mateer and the University both made public statements on Tuesday. Venables offered quick thoughts on Friday.
“I don’t want to speak for (Mateer), but in his mind, there’s nothing to be seen here,” Venables said. “Thankful for the powers that be that got us to a really good place quickly. But he’s a light-hearted guy. He’s focused and serious when he needs to. I think he recognizes — I think he’d be the first one to tell you the enormity of maybe what the implications could’ve been had he not followed NCAA rules years ago or whatever.
“He’s moved on quickly.”
Venables was also asked if the situation was an opportunity to teach the players about NCAA rules and regulations.
“We already did that several weeks ago. But they’re kids in many ways. You’ve gotta continue to educate them on stuff, as far as the rules and expectations, for sure.”
Mateer released a statement Tuesday refuting the allegations that the Venmo transactions were actually related to sports gambling.
“The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false,” Mateer wrote in a social media post. “My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends. I have never bet on sports and I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise. I can assure my teammates, coaches, and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.”
The university also released a statement.
“OU Athletics provides ongoing education to its student-athletes, coaches, and staff on matters related to sports gambling. The department utilizes ProhiBet, which is an industry-standard service offering comprehensive monitoring of sports gambling activities. OU takes any allegations of gambling seriously and works closely with the NCAA in any situations of concern. OU Athletics is unaware of any NCAA investigation and has no reason to believe there is one pending.”
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