Pat Narduzzi criticizes the NCAA for allowing athletes to bet on professional sports
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Pittsburgh football coach Pat Narduzzi criticized decision makers who allow NCAA athletes to bet on professional sports.
“It’s definitely one of the stupidest decisions I’ve ever seen,” Narduzzi told the media on Monday, suggesting that players could fall into the “disease” of “addiction.”
“I’m not a gambler. So I don’t understand it. I’m not addicted to anything. I don’t think it’s cool to teach our young people how to do this,” Narduzzi continued. “It’s hard enough in the compliance office trying to convince your guys not to gamble — you can gamble on a boxing match, you can gamble on horse races because it’s not an NCAA sport, but who gambles on horse races, really, unless you go to a horse track? You can go to the casino and play craps or whatever you want to play. But now, this is a thing on your phone, you can Pick it up, get an app, it’s like, what are we doing? Once you do it once, and you win, you want to do it again, it becomes addictive. “I think it’s not good. It’s a bad deal.”
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Pittsburgh Panthers head coach Pat Narduzzi reacts to a call against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the JMA Wireless Dome. (Rich Barnes/Imagine Images)
Narduzzi also noted that simple innocence, combined with negligence, can lead to severe penalties.
“Press the wrong button on your phone, and see what happens. ‘Oh, I thought it was an NFL game, but I pressed the wrong button and placed a bet on a college football game.’ I just think it’s not good. And I’m not going to change my accent.”
Narduzzi said he would discuss the new regulations with his team and offer some advice.
Pat Narduzzi vs. Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 11, 2021, in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
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“Stay away. Nothing’s changing in our room. You guys shouldn’t do any of this. Save your money. Put it in the bank. That’s my feelings.”
Starting Saturday, the NCAA will change its ban on gambling to make betting on professional sports legal for athletes. They will still be prohibited from betting on college athletics.
The rule change was announced just one day before three prominent NBA figures — Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones — were arrested by the FBI for their alleged roles in illegal gambling schemes.
Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi watches players practice on the field before a college football game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the University of Miami Hurricanes on November 26, 2022, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Doug Murray/Sportswire Icon via Getty Images)
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Rozier and Jones were arrested on charges of leaking non-public information to gamblers, while Billups and Jones face charges of knowingly competing in rigged poker games with mafia ties and benefiting financially from them.
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