SDSU’s Sean Lewis cautiously on board with NCAA proposal to allow betting on pro sports

The NCAA this week announced a rule change that will allow athletes and staff members to gamble on professional sports.

The Division I Administrative Committee adopted a proposal that still must be approved by all three NCAA divisions. Upon approval, the rule change would go into effect on Nov. 1.

Gambling on college sports remains prohibited. Players, coaches and other staff members also are not allowed to share information with bettors.

Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman, chair of the Administrative Committee, said in a news release that the committee “was clear in its discussion (Wednesday) that it remains concerned about the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling, but ultimately voted to reduce restrictions on student-athletes in this area to better align with their campus peers.”

Whitman said the change allows the NCAA, its member conferences and schools to focus on the integrity of games “while, at the same time, encouraging healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports.”

SDSU football coach Sean Lewis called it a “slippery slope.”

“Some people can do it within reason,” Lewis said. “Others, it’s kind of like drinking, right? Some people can do it socially and it’s not a problem. Others really struggle with that. So you’ve got to educate. Got to do a great job with it. We spend a lot of time on financial literacy and that’s probably a chapter we need to add to the lessons.”

The NCAA will work together with member schools, as it has in the past, to provide educational resources for athletes regarding gambling.

“Abstinence-only approaches to social challenges for college-aged individuals are often not as successful as approaches that focus on education about risks and open dialogue,” NCAA chief medical officer Dr. Deena Casiero said in a release, adding, “This harm reduction approach gives schools an opportunity to help student-athletes make educated decisions, prevent risky behavior and seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility.”

Lewis said he agrees “with the rationale that a majority of the time education is better than restriction. … But it’s a fine line.”

“It was 20 years ago that I was playing college ball, but that feels light years ago,” said Lewis, who was a tight end at Wisconsin from 2004-07. “A lot has changed, but, again, you’ve got to innovate, you’ve got to adapt, you’ve got to overcome and we’ll continue to do that.”