Earlier this month, the NCAA made some major headlines when they announced that student athletes, who have always been barred from sports gambling of any kind, were going to now be allowed to bet — but only on professional sports.
Upon hearing the news, many had the same thought: Why?
Why open Pandora’s Box by allowing any sort of wiggle room on a very serious issue, especially in a time where scandals involving teams are running rampant in pro sports?
This week, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey pleaded with the NCAA to reverse the absurd decision.
“The SEC’s Presidents and Chancellors believe the NCAA should restore its prior policy — or a modified policy — communicating a prohibition on gambling by student-athletes and athletics staff, regardless of the divisional level of their sport,” Sankey wrote in a letter reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo News.
“We are equally concerned about the vulnerability of our student-athletes. The combination of accessible mobile betting, financial pressuress, and social influence makes the possibility of personal gambling losses — and the potential for exploitation — very real…It is foreseeable that college athletes, with far fewer resources and far greater outside influence, can be involved in compromising circumstances.”
The ban on student athletes gambling on professional sports is scheduled to lift on November 1 — and it seems Sankey and others are trying to make a final stand in order to prevent it from happening.
