College athletes are student athletes. They spend their days going to class and cross paths with fellow students every day. In today’s sports world, gambling is becoming more and more normal, which concerns NCAA President Charlie Baker.

During an appearance on ESPN at the College World Series, he discussed how students gambling and the interaction with athletes worries him. If there’s so many people gambling on these athletes, the backlash is coming for these players.

” I also think the social media stuff has just come up over and over and over, and I think it’s gonna get worse with sports betting. That’s one of the reasons why we did a big sports betting study pretty early on in my term,” Baker said. “We went out right after the March Madness tournament, we surveyed 5000 kids between the ages of 18 and 22, to get a baseline, and guess what? They all bet. And you know, whether you live in a state where it’s legal or not, doesn’t really matter. It’s pretty easy to get around that at this point. There’s 35 states plus or minus where it’s legal.”

Considering the study Baker referenced and how the workarounds for sports betting in illegal states adds another layer of concern with how it impacts athletes. These are students that may sit in the same class as these athletes, and there’s money on the line with animosity going towards them.

“A lot of kids are betting on sports, college sports and a lot of them are betting on sports on their own campus, which I think creates huge issues for student athletes just in terms of their interaction with their classmates,” Baker said. “I’ll tell you, a lot of kids have shown me stuff on their phones that’s been said about them and to them. When they make the mistake, they miss a shot, they throw bad, they throw a wild pitch, they don’t make the play, whatever it might be. When I played, it wasn’t like that. A lot of these kids, they’re, you know, what’s going on inside their phones is real. And I think we need to sort of factor that in and figure out some way to help them deal with that stuff.”

This impacts the largest campuses as well, because the big schools and programs are going to draw the most betting attention. If you’re competing for a national championship, people are putting money on the line and it’s unfair to stack this pressure on student athletes who already have enough on their plate. Baker is clear in his words that the hate that reaches athletes over betting needs to stop.

We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class.  Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class.  Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.

Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.