Fallout from last year’s college baseball betting scandal involving the exchange of insider information continued this week as the NCAA and local authorities issued new sanctions in the matter. Former Alabama baseball head coach Brad Bohannon and Bert Neff both faced fresh punishments for their role in the scandal that broke last May.
At the heart of the case is the allegation that Bohannon shared insider injury reports with Neff, who then shared the information with a group of gamblers. Those gamblers applied the secret report to their wagers, and then the whole thing blew up.
Neff recently pleaded guilty to a count of obstructing justice for his role in the scandal. According to court reports, Neff twice destroyed phones he used to message co-conspirators in the case, including Bohanan. He’s also accused of initially lying to authorities about his role in the matter, as well as telling others to do the same.
Bohanan is facing his own set of punishments for his role in providing Neff insider information about an injured pitcher, on his own team. The disgraced coach must pay up a $5,000 fine and serve three years of probation. Additionally, the NCAA issued a 15-year show cause order requiring any NCAA school employing him to prove that he is not associated with their athletics department.
In a statement to the press, reported on by Sports Illustrated, the NCAA addressed the matter saying, “Integrity of games is of the utmost importance to NCAA members, and the panel is deeply troubled by Bohannon’s unethical behavior. Coaches, student-athletes and administrators have access to information deemed valuable to those involved in betting. Improperly sharing that information for purposes of sports betting cuts to the heart of the honesty and sportsmanship we expect of our members and is particularly egregious when shared by those who have the ability to influence the outcome of games.”
Both Neff and Bohanan were required to register on Ohio’s self-exclusion list for their role in the matter.