Iowa State’s starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers has been accused of betting on his school’s sporting events, including one football game in which he did not play.
The Iowa native, who grew up three hours west of the college, is also accused of enlisting his parents’ help in order to conceal his identity, using his mother Jami’s identity to place bets while he was still underage. (The legal betting age in Iowa is 21 years old.)
The Des Moines Register reports Dekkers, 22, is also facing a criminal charge of tampering with records in an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into the matter.
Dekkers is accused of placing 366 bets online with wagers totaling $2,799, according to The Des Moines Register.
The redshirt junior had started all 12 games for the Cyclones last season and could face a loss of eligibility from the NCAA due to its anti-gambling policies that restrict players from betting on their own games or sporting events involving their own schools, according to the Associated Press.
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Hunter Dekkers.
Matthew Visinsky/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Dekkers’ attorney Mark Weinhardt said in a statement to the AP that the quarterback would step away from the team’s current practices in order to “focus on his studies and on the defense of this criminal charge.”
“This charge attempts to criminalize a daily fact of American life. Millions of people share online accounts of all kinds every day,” Weihardt’s statement to the AP continued. “Thousands and thousands of college athletes place bets — usually very small ones — with shared accounts. That is for the schools and the NCAA to police.”
In total, three current or former Iowa State athletes were charged with tampering with records to conceal their identities while using the sports betting apps, according to the newspaper.
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“It’s so minimalistic in terms of numbers that we’re all being educated on it,” Iowa State football coach Matt Cambpell told reporters at the team’s practice Tuesday. “You take it as a learning opportunity with the young men on your team and you go forward.”
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The AP reports the other three athletes facing charges are former Cyclones defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike, who was also suspended by the Denver Broncos in 2022 for gambling on games, as well as current offensive lineman Dodge Sauser and wrestler Paniro Johnson. Sauser had allegedly made 12 bets on Iowa State football games, according to the AP.
The Des Moines Register reports that the charge for tampering with records is a misdemeanor and could carry a maximum sentence of one year in county jail or two years in prison, though one legal expert tells the newspaper prosecution is unlikely.
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Source: HIS Education