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Five athletes associated with Iowa State, including current and former members, have admitted guilt to gambling underage as part of a broader probe into sports betting in the state. The charge reduction means these athletes, instead of potentially facing two years behind bars, will now be subjected to a $645 fine with no further legal action.
Among those who have pleaded guilty are Hunter Dekkers, the quarterback, and Jake Remsburg, an offensive lineman. Former athletes Dodge Sauser, Aaron Blom, and ex-baseball player Gehrig Christensen are also in this group. They had initially faced charges of records tampering, which was subsequently reduced.
In a clarifying statement, attorney Mark Weinhardt mentioned, “The initial charge of tampering with records never matched the situation for these individuals. Hunter, Jake, and Dodge, in particular, did nothing wrong apart from betting before reaching 21, which isn’t considered a criminal activity under Iowa’s statutes.”
Interestingly, the probe revealed that numerous athletes, both from Iowa State and the University, used online accounts owned by older individuals to place their bets. This information was particularly alarming as the University of Iowa had earlier flagged that as many as 26 athletes across multiple sports could be involved in sports betting activities. Notably, this breaches the regulations set by the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
It’s also worth noting that some athletes went as far as betting on their own team’s games. Such an action could warrant suspensions as per NCAA guidelines.
Iowa State’s senior athletics director, Nick Joos, acknowledged the situation and assured that they’re actively addressing it. “Since these potential NCAA issues came to light, we’ve been diligently handling them. We are in the process of working with the NCAA to ensure our student athletes’ future in sports remains unaffected,” Joos conveyed.