On Thursday afternoon the SEC baseball world was left in a state of shock as the Alabama Crimson Tide relieved head coach Brad Bohannon of his duties.
Rumors are the firing stems from some suspicious betting activities, although it wasn’t mentioned in the statement released by the university and athletic director Greg Byrne.
Mike Rodak of AL.com tweeted the statement, which read:
“Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne announced he has initiated the termination process for head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for, among other things, violating the standards, duties and responsibilities of university employees. Bohannon has been relieved of all duties and Jason Jackson will serve as the interim head coach. There will be no further comment at this time pending an ongoing review.”
Was Bohannon Fired Because Of Betting Suspicions?
The school didn’t mention if Bohannon’s firing had anything to do with an ESPN report earlier this week that licensed sports books in the state of Ohio had put a stop to bets placed on Alabama baseball for a game against archrival LSU.
It is awfully suspicious, because just three days later Bohannon is axed with no reason for his removal given. The weird part is how it all came about in a matter of days. It’s also unclear what role or if Bohannon has any role in the probe, but it’s something that has to be looked at with all that’s happened in a matter of roughly 72-96 hours.
Alabama Sports Have Been At The Center Of Controversy This Year
From Darius Miles and the basketball team to Tony Mitchell and the football program, and now this, there’s been a dark cloud hovering over Tuscaloosa for a while.
As for the baseball team, aside from the betting probe, the aforementioned Bohannon, along with now interim coach Jason Jackson, and athletic trainer Sean Stryker were recently sued by a former player for what he deemed mistreatment and misdiagnosing of an injury that he’d suffered.
As of now, things aren’t great down at “The Capstone.” They sure could use some good news within a once glowing and pretty clean-cut athletic program.
