How South Carolina football educates its athletes about gambling
On Monday, as news broke that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was entering treatment program for a gambling addiction, South Carolina’s Director of Football Operations George Wynn sent a text to every player and coach.
“Just another reminder about what you can and can’t do,” Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer said of the text.
According to numerous reports, Sorsby bet on Indiana football in 2022 while he was a true freshman on the Hoosiers’ roster. Per NCAA guidelines, any student-athlete who places bets on their own games or the games of any program at their school could permanently lose their eligibility.
The consequences of gambling as a college athlete need constant reminders, especially in a time when it’s seemingly impossible to go a day without being inundated with ads for gambling sites.
And, well, it all seems normal and socially acceptable when most of their classmates are probably placing bets daily. In a 2023 survey, the NCAA reported that 67% of college-aged students were betting on sports — a figure that has likely increased in the past three years.
Beamer that the SEC brought a presenter into the conference coaches’ meetings two years ago who explained how normal college students are able to legally gamble and what student-athletes can and can’t do.
“I was like, ‘We need to get this guy to come to Columbia and educate our guys,’” Beamer said Tuesday in Spartanburg during the Garnet and Black Road Trip.
“It seems really simple because it’s on your phone,” Beamer continued, “But you can’t do it. So we did that education.”
Now, the Gamecocks are likely at an advantage in keeping their student-athletes off gambling sites considering South Carolina is one of 18 states in America where online sports wagering is not legal.
But, with the rise of prediction markets and considering that many Gamecock student-athletes are from — or travel to — states where sports gambling is legal, reminders about the consequences of gambling as a student-athlete are necessary.
The Sorsby news was just another chance for South Carolina to educate its players.
“I’d say that’s pretty consistent throughout the year,” Beamer said. “Whether it be during NCAA Tournament/March Madness. Whether it be during the Masters. Just friendly reminders — to coaches, too — about what you can and can’t do.”
