Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon after he was found to be connected to betting activity in Ohio about Friday’s LSU-Alabama game, two people involved in the investigation said. The Athletic.
The university announced Thursday that Bohannon was fired for “violating the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of University employees.” A person familiar with the investigation said there was no evidence that any athletes were involved.
According to a statement released by the school, athletic director Greg Byrne has initiated the termination process, and Alabama will not comment further due to an “ongoing review.”
Bohannon’s firing came days after reports that Ohio gambling regulators had ordered sportsbooks to stop betting on Alabama baseball games on Monday afternoon. ESPN obtained the text of an emergency order sent to Ohio sportsbooks regarding “suspicious betting activity” on last Friday’s game against LSU, and NOLA.com reported later that two questionable bets placed in Cincinnati, both involving LSU winning the game, triggered the alert.
Ronnie Johns, the chair of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said his organization received an email this weekend from the independent gaming monitoring company US Integrity, alerting the organization to the big bet on the Alabama-LSU game. Johns said his organization checked to make sure no one at LSU was involved and found no evidence that anyone with the Tigers played any role.
US Integrity contracts with sportsbooks, sports leagues and state regulators to monitor gaming transactions. US Integrity president Matt Holt declined to disclose the value of the bets, but he explained that his company monitors several factors that could raise a red flag. This includes an unusually large bet amount on a sport that is unlikely to draw bets at that level and if a bettor has opened an account or recently reactivated an account. If a bet triggers a red flag in US Integrity’s computer system or if a sportsbook operator reports suspicious activity, a US Integrity employee will investigate and issue an anonymous warning to those control board and state sportsbook. In the case of the Alabama-LSU bets, this process happened “within minutes,” Holt said.
On Monday, Ohio’s Casino Control Commission issued an order to remove Alabama baseball games from the board. John Murray, the sports director at Westgate’s Superbook, said operators are following such directives immediately. “We let the regulators guide us,” Murray said. Murray said college baseball doesn’t usually pick up heavy betting until the College World Series.
Johns said it’s critical that when questionable bets are placed, regulators and teams act quickly. “The system works,” Johns said. “We have to protect the integrity of sports betting or the system will collapse.” Asked if Louisiana authorities could take criminal action against anyone involved in the case, Johns said at this point his organization has no knowledge of anything specific to the case going on in Baton Rouge. Johns said that if the Ohio regulatory commission finds any possible evidence of actions in Louisiana affecting betting, the Louisiana board will investigate.
On Wednesday, New Jersey sportsbooks joined Ohio in banning any bets on Alabama baseball games. As of Thursday morning, Pennsylvania sportsbooks also banned bets on Alabama baseball games.
“Alabama’s ban on baseball betting (in Ohio) continues until it is lifted by the Commission,” said Jessica Franks, the director of communications for the Ohio Casino Control Commission. “I cannot give you a timeline for when our investigation can be completed. It will take as long as it takes.”
The game in question is the first of a three-game series in Baton Rouge between Alabama and LSU, the consensus No. 1 team in the country. A few hours before the game starts, Alabama scratched projected starting pitcher Luke Holman because of back tightness and started righthander Hagan Banks in his place. The Crimson Tide trailed 8-1 after seven innings and rallied for five runs in the final two frames, but third baseman Colby Shelton stranded runners on first and second to take the 8-6 loss. . LSU is a heavy favorite in the game.
Alabama has posted winning seasons in each of the last five seasons under Bohannon and is 30-15 this season and 9-12 in SEC play, tied for third in the SEC West. The Crimson Tide is set to host Vanderbilt on Thursday night.
Pitching coach Jason Jackson will serve as interim head coach.
“The University of Alabama took swift action after information about baseball sports betting activity was questioned by industry regulators,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “Ensuring the integrity of athletic competition is our highest priority, and to that end 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 calls into question the integrity of the competition. We will remain in contact with the University throughout its ongoing review and have no further comment at this time.”
(Photo: Jonathan Mailhes/ Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
