More Iowa, Iowa State players charged after alleged gambling on football games
Iowa State running back Jirehl Brock and former Iowa wide receiver Arland Bruce were among those charged Thursday
Several more Iowa and Iowa State football players were charged in the state’s gambling investigation Thursday, including Iowa State starting running back Jirehl Brock.
Brock, defensive tackle Isaiah Lee, tight end DeShawn Hanika and offensive lineman Jacob Remsburg were all charged with tampering with records Thursday as part of a larger probe by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, according to The Des Moines Register. All four of those players started for the Cyclones last season.
According to the report, Brock used an online gambling account that wasn’t in his name but was controlled by him. He allegedly placed four bets on Iowa State football games while he was a member of the team, including two games last season that he played in. It’s unclear what wagers he allegedly bet specifically in those games, but they were reportedly games against Kansas State and Iowa. Brock also allegedly placed 13 bets on Iowa State basketball games.
Lee allegedly placed 26 bets on 12 Iowa State football games, including one that he played in during 2021. Lee allegedly bet on Iowa State to beat Texas that season, and he had a single tackle in the contest. Hanika allegedly placed 70 bets on Iowa State basketball games. Remsburg allegedly placed 273 bets on NCAA basketball and football games, though none involved Iowa State.
At Iowa, four current or former members of the Hawkeyes’ football team were also charged with tampering with records Thursday. Wide receiver Jack Johnson and graduate assistant coach Owen O’Brien, along with Arland Bruce, who transferred to Oklahoma State, and Reggie Bracy, who transferred to Troy, were charged.
Bruce allegedly placed 123 sports bets through a DraftKings account he controlled, including 11 that were on Hawkeyes football games he played in. Bruce allegedly bet the under on Iowa games twice, first against Northwestern — a game that he scored a touchdown in late to actually hit the over — and again in Iowa's bowl game win against Kentucky. He didn't play in that game.
Bracy allegedly placed 66 wagers, including on two Iowa games he participated in. Jackson allegedly placed 380 bets through an account with his mother’s identity, including four on Iowa football games, though he didn’t participate in those games. O’Brien allegedly placed 350 bets, including three on Iowa football games last season when he was on staff.
All of the athletes in question who allegedly bet on their own teams face permanent loss of eligibility under the NCAA’s new gambling guidelines.
This wave of players are just the latest athletes in the state to be charged in the investigation. Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers, Iowa backup kicker Aaron Blom, former Iowa basketball player Ahron Ulis, Iowa football player Dodge Sauser, Iowa State wrestler Paniro Johnson and former Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christenson were charged earlier this month. Former Iowa State football player Eyioma Uwazurike, now with the Denver Broncos, was charged, too. He was suspended for the 2023 NFL season for violating the league’s gambling rules.
