2 weeks ago
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Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has found himself at the center of a bizarre gambling scandal after screenshots of his old Venmo transactions appeared online.
The image - which appeared on social media on Monday - showed a number of payments sent by Mateer to a friend in 2022. They included the reference 'sports gambling', with one even referencing '(UCLA vs USC).'
Mateer was a freshman at Washington State in 2022 and NCAA rules ban student-athletes from 'engaging in sports betting at any level (professional, college or amateur) for any sports that have NCAA championships.'
The screenshot quickly spread across social media on Monday but the quarterback has now denied any wrongdoing, insisting the payment references were in fact 'inside jokes' between him and his friends.
'The allegations that I once participated in sports gambling are false. My previous Venmo descriptions did not accurately portray the transactions in question, but were instead inside jokes between me and my friends,' he said.
'I have never bet on sports. I understand the seriousness of the matter, but recognize that, taken out of context, those Venmo descriptions suggest otherwise.
Oklahoma star John Mateer has found himself at the center of a bizarre gambling scandal
🚨BREAKING🚨
Oklahoma QB John Mateer has allegedly engaged in sports betting, including on NCAA football games such as UCLA vs USC, according to Venmo transactions.
NCAA rules prohibit athletes from wagering on any NCAA-sanctioned events pic.twitter.com/UZTt8g4iDR
I can assure my teammates, coaches and officials at the NCAA that I have not engaged in any sports gambling.'
The affair then took another bizarre twist on Tuesday when it was suggested that the 'journalist' who first shared the screenshots was in fact a fraud.
An account belonging to 'Bryan Aguada' posted the Venmo transactions on X and the post soon amassed millions of views. 'Aguada' claimed to be a reporter at Deadspin and Valley News Live.
But Oklahoma City-based reporter Blake Gamble reportedly spoke to staff at Valley News Live, who insisted that they had never hired someone by the name of 'Bryan Aguada'.
Gamble also revealed that 'Aguada's' profile picture was a photo of Zach Aston-Reese, a former hockey player with Northeastern.
Mateer transferred from Washington State to Oklahoma after a breakthrough 2024 season with the Cougars.
