The University of Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes is guilty of making an ill-timed joke about match-fixing after a narrow win for the Volunteers over the weekend.
sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.”
Speaking to reporters after his team had beaten Auburn 77-69 despite 15 turnovers, Barnes stated some of the passes his charges threw left him lost for words. But in a misguided attempt at humor, he then said: “sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.”
Sports reporter at VLT-TV Paige Dauer claimed responsibility for the banana-skin question, sharing a video clip of the presser on X, which has since attracted more than 150k views:
In an attempt to backpedal, Barnes added: “I shouldn’t say that, but … erase that. I’m just wondering what’s happening. I mean because I know that we’re too good of players to do that.”
Barnes, 71, and in his 11th year as the Volunteers coach, should have known that while intending his match-fixing quip as a joke, the points-shaving scandals rocking NCAA basketball would make any attempt at lightheartedness a serious gaffe.
Covering his face with his hand as he reallized his error of judgement, Barnes asked the gathered reporters: “Was that a bad joke? I apologize. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Last month, federal prosecutors charged 26 individuals in a college basketball point-shaving scheme that involved more than 39 players on 17 teams cashing in on altering the outcomes of NCAA games.
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- Source: https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2026/02/02/volunteers-coach-apologizes-for-joke-blunder-about-match-fixing/