The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2023
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Experts say athletes who bet on their own team face large penalties. A look inside the UI museum’s 50,000 new insects The UI acquired the vast insect collection from Iowa Wesleyan University after its closing. 80 HOURS | 1C
Iowa schools lack guidelines on state book challenge law Without state guidance, Iowa schools face uncertain challenges because of a new state book challenge law. EPI | 5A
CooperWorth Pregame Reporter
cooper-worth@uiowa.edu
Despite being banned for most of the country’s existence, sports betting is becoming mainstream in the United States. Legalized sports betting in some states, including Iowa, has affected nearly all parties involved in the sports landscape. Now, one group of individuals who place wagers are facing legal consequences: athletes. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Committee announced in May that it started an investigation into online sports gambling by athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University. The NCAA prohibits student-athletes from participating in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate or professional athletics. Violation of NCAA rules can result in ineligibility for the student-athlete. The UI later released information that over 100 individuals close to UI athletics had been flagged for sports betting, including 26 current student-athletes across the following teams: · Football · Baseball · Men’s basketball · Men’s track and field · Men’s wrestling
Leveling the playing field The Swarm Collective will keep helping Iowa’s athletes succeed in the NIL era. SPORTS | 1A
ISU announced 15 student-athletes across football, wrestling, and track & field were also involved in the investigation. In August, charges were released against student-athletes from both institutions. An estimated $1.8 billion was spent advertising online gambling in the U.S. in 2022, up nearly 70 percent in just one year. Sportsbooks generated $6.56 billion in 2022, increasing by 65 percent compared to 2021. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation charged six current and former Iowa student athletes in a probe into sports wagering, including Aaron Blom, Jack Johnson, Reggie Bracy, Arland Bruce IV, Gehrig Christensen, and Ahron Ulis. Blom and Johnson were both on the Hawkeyes roster as of August. Bruce and Bracy transferred to Oklahoma State and Troy in January. Ulis transferred
to Nebraska in May. Four football players from ISU have also been charged. Each player was charged with one count of tampering with evidence related to the investigation. Student managers Owen O’Brien and Evan Schuster were charged with the same count.
What’s next for the sports betting investigation The NCAA handling the implications of student-athletes sports betting is fairly new. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of New Jersey in the case of Murphy v. NCAA, effectively overturning a 1992 law that made it illegal for states to enact sports betting. The ruling allowed states to legalize and regulate sports betting, and now over 34 states and Washington D.C. have legalized some form of sports betting. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill in 2019 legalizing sports betting in the state. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission oversees the regulation of casinos and gambling activities in Iowa. Just two years after the Supreme Court’s decision, more than $20 million in bets were placed at legal U.S. sportsbooks. “There’s definitely a heightened awareness of concern of the potential for issues given that [sports betting] is so much more accessible now … I can’t think of any sports betting cases prior to 2018,” said Daniel Matheson, UI sports law professor, and former associate director of enforcement for the NCAA. Matheson said the NCAA has representatives who work with schools and student-athletes to help educate them about the rules associated with gambling, but he said it comes down to how each school emphasizes this education to athletes and whether or not they comply with it. “Part of the role of an athletics compliance officer is to educate student-athletes, coaches, and administrators on what the rules are,” Matheson said. “That’s how the awareness of gambling rules is established, and it’s really up to each on how they deliver that.” He said an effective rules
LOG IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL COLLEGE BASEBALL
NHL NFL
VOLLEYBALL
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
COLLEGE BASKETBALL (W)
MLB
NAME
SPORT
DATE CHARGED
Noah Shannon
Football
-
Aaron Blom
Football
Aug. 1
Jack Johnson
Football
Aug. 10
Arland Bruce*
Football
Aug. 10
Gehrig Christensen
Baseball
Aug. 1
Evan Schuster
basketball
Aug. 18
Owen O'Brien
football
Aug. 10
Reggie Bracy*
football
Aug. 10
Ahron Ulis*
basketball
Aug. 1 *Not a current student
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Graphic by Bri Brown | The Daily Iowan
compliance system at a school should be reinforced at different times, in different modes, and by different officials. “It doesn’t solely come down to a compliance officer,” Matheson said. “It could be a coach talking to their team or an ath-
letic director talking to one of these student-athletes.” Student-athletes are not completely prohibited from betting on all sporting events, Matheson said. If a student-athlete is of
SPORTS BET | 2A
Fire strikes twice The UI responded to two separate fires at the Advanced Technology Lab on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. NEWS | 6A
The Green House bar comes full circle The plant-themed cocktail bar collaborated with dozens of businesses in its first year. Sydney Becker News Reporter
sydney-becker@uiowa.edu
UI Stead children get game-day gowns The nonprofit Holly’s Heart is donating Hawkeyethemed hospital gowns this season. NEWS | 3A
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A year after opening as a plant-themed bar in downtown Iowa City, The Green House is continuing to succeed through local collaborations with nonprofits and small businesses. Emily Salmonson, a University of Iowa alumna and former FilmScene director of operations, opened The Green House last year on Sept. 3 at 505 E. Washington St. Salmonson said she has been so busy hosting events, such as candle-making classes, plant bingo with beer tastings, and even a wedding, she can’t believe it has already been a year since opening. “We do a lot of community events, but we also host a lot of private events,” she said. “We just have this platform where we can engage [with] the community in a really meaningful way.” Working with other local businesses has been a high priority for the establishment since its opening. The Green House has collaborated with numerous Iowa City businesses, including Beno’s Flowers and Gifts, New Pioneer Food Co-op, and Wild Culture Kombucha, and community
GREEN HOUSE | 3A Listen to The Daily Iowan’s latest episode of the Above the Fold podcast at dailyiowan.com.
Check out The Daily Iowan’s online coverage of the Hawkeyes game against Iowa State on Sept. 9 at dailyiowan.com.
Ben Koth | The Daily Iowan
Customers sit at The Green House in Iowa City on Aug. 30. The Green House celebrated their one year anniversary on Sept. 3.
JoCo funds rape survivors’ emergency contraception The Supervisors unanimously approved $10,000 to pay for rape survivors’ medication. Roxy Ekberg News Reporter
roxy-ekberg@uiowa.edu
Survivors of rape in Johnson County will now have access to free emergency contraception after the Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved $10,000 of funds last week to cover the costs of medication and in rare cases abortion services. The supervisors’ decision was in response to Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird’s suspension
of reimbursement to medical providers for emergency contraception, and sometimes abortion, for rape survivors. Bird has yet to make a final decision on whether to continue payment but announced she is heavily leaning toward indefinite suspension of funding. The Johnson County Sexual Assault Response Team provides medical forensic exams, medications to prevent sexually transmitted infections, forensic photography to document injuries, emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy, and forensic evidence collection.
Consisting of a coalition of sexual assault nurse examiners, emergency room staff, rape victim advocates, law enforcement officers, and a prosecuting attorney, the response team provides education services and mental health support throughout the entire process. Katy Rasmussen, the University of Iowa College of Nursing sexual assault nurse examiner coordinator, said people aged 18 to 24 years old are at a high-risk age of being sexually assaulted, and
JOCO | 3A