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In a press conference, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes joked, “sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games” before saying “that’s crazy.”
The 71-year-old started laughing shortly after making the comment, with members of the press who could be heard in the background. Immediately, he said: “I shouldn’t say that, but you know… delete that…” before putting his head in his hands.
“I’m just wondering what happened. I mean, because I know we’re too good of players to do that…” He then apologized and said “I shouldn’t have said that…
This is an all-timer by Rick Barnes
I asked him about the team’s increased focus and it ended with him talking about some questionable bad passes.
“Sometimes I wonder if my boys bet on sports.” pic.twitter.com/1Q5Au3008b
— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) February 1, 2026
The Tennessee coach’s betting joke comes at a time when organizations are grappling with betting concerns
While the coach was only joking, and the quote led to a light-hearted laugh-filled press conference, the NCAA has faced several betting scandals in recent times.
Just a few weeks ago, a case was unsealed federal court in Philadelphia, where prosecutors alleged that 26 people were involved in a long-running scheme that included bribery tied to sporting events, wire fraud, conspiracy, and helping others commit the alleged crimes. However, these are only allegations.
In a statement, NCAA President Charlie Baker said: “Protecting the integrity of competition is of utmost importance to the NCAA. We are grateful to the law enforcement agencies that are working to identify and combat issues of integrity and manipulation in college sports.”
Today’s news sheds light on issues in the sports betting ecosystem. We need to protect our athletes and our sports. pic.twitter.com/P9bKeORRqr
– Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) January 15, 2026
He also said that when he took office as president three years ago, one of the first things he did was improve the organization’s response to sports betting.
It was only in November of last year when it was found that there were six athletes in the basketball student violated NCAA betting ruleswhich led to expulsion from their schools.
Featured Image: Screenshot from X video by Paige Dauer
The post Tennessee coach Rick Barnes joked about players betting on games first appeared in ReadWrite.
