U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) believes that members of Congress should use their oversight authority to investigate issues related to accountability and transparency in the sports industry.
Sports gambling drew fresh scrutiny this week as the FBI announced two new criminal cases involving six people, that includes current and former NBA players, arrested in an illegal betting and money laundering scheme, as well as a separate Brooklyn indictment that charged 31 defendants in a Mafia-linked poker cheating scheme.
The Justice Department says the schemes exploited insider information and positions of trust, jeopardizing the integrity of competition. The NBA has placed implicated personnel on leave while the inquiries proceed.
Britt reacted to the news Thursday during an appearance on the “Scott Jennings Radio Show.”
“Look, we absolutely have to take a look at all of this,” Britt said. “I am from the great state of Alabama, where we take SEC football very seriously. We have seen some interesting calls when it comes to refereeing over the last couple of weeks that I think need to be dug into that have changed the direction of the game. And I think we got to call it like we see it on that.”
Senator Britt referenced another high-profile news item that swept the sports world this week in the almost unprecedented discipline taken against Southeastern Conference referee Ken Williamson following an official SEC review of he and his crew’s officiating during the Auburn-Georgia game.
The SEC has not released any statement or information related to Williamson’s ouster, nor any further potential personnel discipline, although ESPN has confirmed Williamson’s suspension.
Public scrutiny and confusion has fueled calls by fans for accountability and transparency from league officials.
Britt also has a personal perspective. Her husband Wesley played football in college for the University of Alabama before joining the New England Patriots in the NFL.
“Being the wife of a former professional athlete, my husband, having played for the New England Patriots, look, I know how much grit and grind goes into these games and preparedness for them,” She explained. “And so if you have people that are doing things unethical, absolutely 100% we’ve got to get to the bottom of it.”
“So I don’t know what the solution is,” she added, “but I know being a part of finding out, getting to the root cause, I think we absolutely have a role to play there.”
The senator said she’s especially worried about how the availability of gambling online could effect young people across the country.
“I do in particular being a mom of two school aged kids when it comes to everything from bullying to people buying things like fentanyl online. But additionally, now into gaming and gambling, and particularly sports betting, being thrust on the next generation, the addiction that comes to that, and all kinds of things, the cross-section that’s at play. I asked actually the Attorney General, I asked her to get to the bottom of it, working with [FBI Director] Kash Patel on that too,” Britt said.
“And so I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. And I think the issue that we have here in the country is much larger than this.”
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee.
