CINCINNATI — Just days after Ohio officials barred any betting on University of Alabama baseball games, ESPN reported the Crimson Tide's baseball coach is being fired following suspicious betting activity at the sportsbook at Great American Ball Park.
In a statement, the university said head coach Brad Bohannon violated "the standards, duties, and responsibilities expected of university employees."
ESPN's David Purdum reported that surveillance video indicated that a person who placed bets on Alabama's April 28 game against LSU at the BetMGM Sportsbook was communicating with Bohannon. ESPN said the Ohio Casino Control Commission's investigation is centered on two bets for the Tide to lose, which they did.
According to the university, Alabama starting pitcher Luke Holman was a late scratch that day. After the game, Bohannon praised his replacement, Hagan Banks, for pitching after finding out he would start only an hour before the game. They lost 8-6.
ESPN said an independent integrity firm that monitors the betting market first contacted the OCCC about the suspicious bets. Indiana regulators were also contacted about suspicious bets on the same game at a sportsbook there.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement that the conference has been monitoring gambling activity through the firm U.S. Integrity since 2018.
"There must be zero tolerance for activity that puts into question the integrity of competition," Sankey said. "We will remain in communication with the university through its ongoing review and will have no further comment at this time."
ESPN's Pete Thamel said there is no reason to believe any student-athletes were involved in the betting at this time.
Before his tenure at Alabama, Bohannon worked as an assistant at Auburn for one year and as an assistant at the University of Kentucky for more than 10 seasons. In his last season at UK, Bohannon was named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year.
