John Mateer’s time as an Oklahoma Sooners quarterback hasn’t gotten off to the best start, as the 21-year-old could be in hot water before taking a snap for his new team. Screenshots surfaced on Monday of Venmo transactions allegedly sent by the player to a former teammate for the purpose of sports betting:
The two transactions are dated November 2022, and the recipient is Richard Roaten, his Washington State Cougars teammate at the time.
People can view an individual’s public payments on Venmo if they haven’t changed their privacy settings to “Private” or “Friends Only.” This doesn’t include the size of the payments.
That means someone can search a username and see any public transactions they’ve made, which appears to be what happened in this case. The transactions have since been hidden or deleted.
would be violations of the organization’s rules if true
NCAA athletes are banned from betting on college sports, so the two Venmo payments labeled “Sports gambling (UCLA vs USC)” and “Sports gambling” would be violations of the organization’s rules if true. Some people on social media speculated that Mateer could have just been joking with the payment descriptions.
If the NCAA investigates the matter and finds the payments to be legitimate, Mateer could face a ban from college football, with punishment often depending on the size and frequency of bets, in addition to whether there are any integrity concerns.
A suspension would be a big blow to the player and his team, as Mateer is regarded as one of the best quarterbacks transfers during the offseason.
