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LSU football head coach Brian Kelly said Thursday the university will be implementing a new injury reporting policy as a “proactive” response to the rising popularity of sports betting, according to Brett Martel of the Associated Press.
The Tigers’ new injury reports will be published twice during game weeks in a similar manner to NFL injury reports, Kelly said. A player whose status is in question will be announced as either “available” or “unavailable” on Saturdays.
“I thought it was important given the nature of what’s going on today out there relative to reporting and gaming,” Kelly said. “We wanted to make sure that we were transparent with injuries, not putting any pressure on anybody here to guess who’s in, who’s out.”
The reports will designate players as probable, questionable, doubtful or out, with clarifications as to whether the cause is due to the upper body, lower body or illness, according to Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Johnson.
Kelly’s announcement comes after seven current and former Iowa and Iowa State athletes received criminal charges in relation to a sports gambling case that involved players allegedly placing bets on their own teams.
Those charges have the potential to impact the careers of players including Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, who was anticipated to start this season. In addition to facing criminal charges regarding alleged tampering with records related to the investigation, Dekkers could permanently lose NCAA eligibility because of rules prohibiting participation in sports wagering.
For now, Dekkers’ future with the Cyclones is unclear. He will skip Iowa State’s preseason camp, his attorney told the AP.
Kelly, who spoke to reporters following the first practice of Tigers training camp, said it was more important to avoid a situation like the one Dekkers is facing than to prevent opposing teams from discovering which players will be available ahead of the game.
“I don’t want it to be a situation where it causes something to the point where somebody loses their job or somebody loses eligibility,” Kelly said. “I mean, that’s a bigger issue than, well, we got a tactical advantage today because we found out he was playing.”
Kelly also hopes the reports will dissuade those with stakes in sports betting from pressing members of the LSU staff or football team for information.
“I think it’s better to be proactive in those situations and take away even the temptation to even have that in this building and not be that next school that goes down that path,” Kelly said.