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- Colorado violence in the locker room
- Latest incident involves an alleged gambling debt
- Report: MLB to investigate former Angels player David Fletcher
Gambling Scandal
Colorado Football Coach Son Allegedly Beat Up Backup QB Over Gambling Debt
Reports began surfacing Monday that Colorado Buffaloes WR Kaleb Mathis, the son of Colorado football DB coach Robert Mathis, reportedly beat up backup quarterback Colton Allen in the Buffs locker room over an unpaid gambling debt Mathis had owed Allen.
It's just the latest in what some have called a violent culture within the Buffs program since the arrival of Deion Sanders, known affectionately as "Coach Prime".
Steve Corder of Athlon Sports first broke the news.
"While bullying was also a common theme, there was another alleged incident involving a gambling debt between backup QB Colton Allen and wide receiver Kaleb Mathis," Corder prefaced before saying, "Days after the Seaton-Washington melee, the son of Robert Mathis, who's CU's defensive back coach, was asked to pay Allen over a gambling debt in excess of $10,000, according to a former CU player. When Mathis refused, he allegedly proceeded to punch Allen repeatedly in the locker room, with players and coaches witnessing the assault. Allen allegedly refused to discuss the matter, fearing repercussions due to Mathis' connection to Prime’s coaching staff."
Some good news and some bad news.
First, Colorado is a favorite on the Over number of wins for the regular season.
The bad news: That Over is just on a total of 5.5.
Gambling Scandal
MLB is Expected to Investigate David Fletcher for Gambling on Sports
Major League Baseball is expected to investigate former Angels player David Fletcher for gambling on sports with a bookmaker who also took bets from Shohei Ohtani's former interpreter, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday because they weren’t at liberty to discuss such impending matters.
ESPN reported Friday night that Fletcher placed bets with Mathew Bowyer, an alleged illegal bookmaker in Southern California. Federal prosecutors say Ippei Mizuhara stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off sports gambling debts during a yearslong scheme, at times impersonating the Dodgers superstar to bankers.
Sources told ESPN that Fletcher, who currently is with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, bet on several sports but not baseball.
MLB declined to comment on the Fletcher report.
The league's gambling policy prohibits players and team employees from wagering on baseball, even legally. MLB also bans betting on other sports with illegal or offshore bookmakers. The penalty is at the discretion of the commissioner’s office.
Fletcher was a teammate of Ohtani's during the Japanese two-way sensation's six years with the Angels. Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700-million contact with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December while Fletcher was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He is now with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.
Diane Bass, Bowyer’s lawyer, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment on the ESPN report. Calls and texts to Fletcher’s agent by the AP were not immediately returned.
Mizuhara pleaded not guilty Tuesday to bank and tax fraud, a formality ahead of a plea deal he negotiated with prosecutors and signed on May 5 in a wide-ranging sports betting case.
In a March interview, Fletcher told ESPN he was present at a 2021 poker game in San Diego where Mizuhara first met Bowyer. Fletcher said he knew Bowyer was a bookmaker at the time, and added that he never placed a bet himself with Bowyer’s operation.
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